


Breaking Free

by StillRose



Category: Angel - Fandom, Buffy
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, prisoner
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-15
Updated: 2015-12-15
Packaged: 2017-12-05 09:39:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 44
Words: 139,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/721604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StillRose/pseuds/StillRose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lt. “Xander” Harris and Captain William the Bloody have both suffered and lost in the on going war between the Biogens and Council. Now, Xander finds himself on a ship under attack by Captain Bloody. Can a damaged and “useless” Xander find a way to save the Council crew and passengers?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. (1/43 plus Epilogue)

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted to my LJ account 08/01/2006. As always: Feedback makes my heart go pitter-patter.

The ships claxons were still ringing and the crew was mostly holding to their battle stations. Passengers scrambled for whatever illusion of safety they could find on the tiny transport. Lt. Alexander “Xander” Harris, having neither a battle station nor any false illusions about the ship’s fate frantically kept working on overriding the security protocols on the main cargo container.

“C’mon Xan-man, just once try and remember something Willow tried to teach ya,” Xander muttered as he worked on the codes. He knew his Council access should allow him to reset the security protocols; but Xander wasn’t sure he remembered the correct sequence to input the codes. If he got the sequence wrong, the system would shut him out and his brilliant plan, his only plan, would be about has helpful as his left eye. _Useless plan plus useless eye equals even less than useless Xander,_ he thought. _Math’s as good as my eye._

“Harris. Zed – Beta – Alpha – Jesse,” Xander said into the voice panel.

“Security protocol override, Lt. Harris, member of Regent inner circle authorized,” the computer voice droned from the cargo container.

“Yes!” Xander’s shout was lost amidst screams and the sound of the general alarms signaling a hull breach. “Crap!

“I am sorry. I do not understand that imperative,” the security program responded.

“It wasn’t an impera…a command or anything,” Xander said. _Wills I wish you were here!_  “Look I need you to lock out any unauthorized people from accessing the stuff inside.”

“Security override has been engaged. Please set parameters for new security protocols.”

Loud pops and more screams of terror indicated the fighting was no longer ship to ship but that _The Snyder_ had been boarded.

“Can you lock it out so that…,” Xander paused. The container had weapons and medicine meant for Council strongholds. However, the Biogens would want them too. Hopefully bad enough they’d be willing to bargain. _Who doesn’t like a good deal? Even Biogens, soulless, evil, and repulsive as they are, wouldn’t pass up the opportunity? Would they?_

“…Program,” Xander continued. “Set for voice and bioscan authorization on Lt. Harris. If container is breached or an attempt is made to override program then auto destruct. Confirm.”

_Hey, I only have my life to bet and right now that’s not worth much anyway._

“Confirm. Input voice and bioscan codes.”

“Voicescan – Willow,” Xander said and then stood before a small panel on the cargo container. A small beam of light came out and scanned Xander’s right eye; his only eye.

“Input complete. New security protocol parameters engaged.”

Xander sighed. First part of his plan was complete. _Now to help with the fight!_ Xander thought as he reached for his sidearm.

“Oi! I wouldn’t do that if I were you mate,” a cool voice said from behind Xander.

Xander grew up all his life fighting Biogens. Even though he was a total human, not a Regent like Buffy or a Cyber-Mage like Willow, Xander swore he had a sixth sense when it came to knowing a Biogen when he came across one. _It’s the absence of a soul,_ he thought bitterly. Still, Xander had lost enough to know he couldn’t take a Biogen. The most he could ever hope to be was back up. _And in the end that hadn’t been good enough for Jesse._

Xander slowly raised his hands and turned around and then hissed. Standing armed before him was one of the most wanted Biogen’s in the galaxy; Captain William the Bloody. Bloody was the right hand to the leader of the Biogens, Angel. Xander had seen enough vidcaps of Bloody to know what he looked like.

Only a Biogen could have such perfectly chiseled cheeks, piercing blue eyes and lethal demeanor. _OK, the hair though. The hair had to be faked,_ Xander thought and in the volatile mix of suppressed fear, self-pity, and the urge to fight he couldn’t help smiling just a little at realizing Captain Bloody bleached his hair.

“Something amusing, Patch?” Bloody purred as he stepped farther into the cargo bay followed closely by a well armed and built black man.

“Just wondering when, in between all of the murder and mayhem, Captain Bloody got in to see a stylist?”  Xander responded. _Wills, couldn’t you find some sort of chip or spell to disengage my mouth?_

“Gunn,” Spike growled as he stepped well into Xander’s personal space. Xander couldn’t help but notice he had a couple of inches on the famous killer. “The Council must be gettin’ desperate if they are makin’ lieutenants out of the mentally infirm.”

Captain Bloody punctuated his comments by nearly puncturing Xander’s chest by using his fingers to stab at Xander’s insignia on his Council uniform. Xander grimaced. A Biogen could easily rip his heart out with his bare hands.

“You don’t need to be that smart to kill Biogens, shorty,” Xander said fixing his one eye firmly on the blonde’s blue. _Mouth Xander! Mouth!_

Bloody slipped into his enhanced face and struck Xander across the face. Xander felt his feet fly out from under him. _Tuck and roll Xan. You’ve had enough practice at this,_ he thought briefly as he painfully landed on the floor.

While Xander struggled to get air back into his lungs he felt himself being hauled up by the front of his shirt. Then the world went into a fast forward blur as he was being shaken.

“Spike!” another voice shouted. “Spike we don’t have time for this. We need to get the cargo onboard the _DeSoto_ and get out of here if we want to avoid a fighter. Riley had time to send off a distress signal before we took out communications.”  
  
Once again Xander found himself making friends with the floor of the cargo bay.

“Right then,” Spike, aka Captain Bloody, said. “Shoot this pissant for me then.”

“You won’t get what you came for,” Xander quickly wheezed.

Spike held up a hand to the black man who was already aiming to fire.

“Wot?” Spike crouched down to look at Xander.

“Container’s set to autodestruct without the correct voicescan and bioscan. Anything you hoped to gain in there; you’ll lose.”

“And how does that involve you, wonder mouth?”

Xander gave a dry chuckle. “I’m the one with the codes.”

Spike arched an eyebrow. “You?”

“Me,” answered Xander.

“Gunn!” Spike said.

“I’m on it,” the black man, apparently Gunn, said. “I’ll get the Captain down here.” Gunn then left the bay leaving Spike and Xander alone.

“If you’re lying to save your useless life, whelp, I promise your death will be one for the Nets.”

“Yeah. I know. Death and pain. The only creative talents Biogens have!” Xander sneered.

Spike once again grabbed Xander and hauled him up. This time he didn’t shake him. He pulled Xander close so they were face to face; their breaths entwining.

“You think you know about pain and death, Council boy?” Spike asked in a lethal whisper.

“Leaned everything I know from Biogens,” Xander coolly responded wishing he had two eyes again just so he could give an equal stare back at Spike.

Spike snarled and shoved Xander back against the cargo container.

“Hear he is, _Captain_ ,” Gunn said as he came back in to the cargo bay. This time he was marching Captain Riley in front of him.

“Lt. Harris!” Riley barked when he saw Xander leaning against the cargo container. “What are you doing here? You are supposed to be in the passenger area with the other non-essentials!”

Xander tried to hide his wince. _At least let the enemy think I’m of some use,_ Xander thought.

“Riley,” Spike interrupted. “Boy here seems to think that cargo container is set for an autodestruct. I want you to open it for me.”

“What?” Riley sputtered as Gunn shoved him over next to Xander. “Harris what have you done?”

“Riley?” Spike asked.  
  


“It’s Captain Riley!”

“It’s only Captain if you have a ship,” Spike growled. “And you don’t have a ship. I on the other hand have two; yours and mine. Now open the bleedin’ cargo container!”

“Council protocol strictly forbid…”

“Deadmen don’t care about Council protocol,” Spike growled.

“I’m not going to give you…”

“How many crewmen and passengers have to die before you open the cargo container?”

“Riley. Gamma – Sigma – Xi- Walsh,” Riley said into the voice panel.

“I am sorry. You are unauthorized to access this container. Security protocols engaged,” the computer voice droned.

Xander didn’t hide his smile. Riley couldn’t hide his shock or anger.

“Harris! What the fuck have you done?” Riley yelled.

“Made you bleedin’ irrelevant,” Spike answered as he grabbed Riley by the throat and began to squeeze.

For the briefest of moments Xander was tempted to not interfere. It wouldn’t be his fault if Captain Riley was killed by Captain Bloody. But Xander was one of the good guys and more importantly Riley was human.

“You kill him or anyone else on this ship and you might as well kiss the cargo goodbye,” Xander said quietly.

Spike eased his grip on Riley’s throat. Riley gulped in some air.

“You think you’d last boy if I really wanted to get information out of you?”

“No,” Xander answered calmly. “I _know_ it. Now let Captain Riley go.” 

Spike released Riley, who fell to the floor, and stared at the young lieutenant in front of him. The boy, well man really, was a couple of inches taller than Spike. He had wide shoulders and a long lean build that indicated a strong frame. His hair was thick and dark. Over his left eye was a patch. The lieutenant’s right eye though was what held Spike attention. It was a rich chocolate brown and it blazed with passion. This man didn’t just have passion for the fight; he had passion for living and for his cause.

Spike suddenly began to find this Council officer rather fascinating. “I believe you, whelp. What are your terms?”

Xander suppressed a sigh.

“ _The Snyder,_ her passengers and her crew go free. You get the cargo.”

“Harris!” Riley tried to wheeze. Gunn pointed his gun at the prone captain.

“So you just going to hand all those lovely weapons and medicines over ta me?”

“If you spare this ship and all souls onboard.”

Spike smiled. “Agreed. Open the container.”

Xander laughed. “You think I’m just going to take a Biogen’s word?”

Once again Xander found himself face to face with an angry Spike. “You are sorely trying my very limited patience, boy!”

“I only transmit the voicecodes when the _DeSoto_ is safely out of range.”

“And the bioscan, boy? How do you propose to handle that?”

Xander shuddered. _I can do this,_ he thought.

“Take what you need,” Xander answered in a small voice. _It won’t be the first time I’ve been mutilated by a Biogen._

In the two centuries since Spike had become self-aware, and in the century of fighting for Biogen freedom, Spike had seen a lot. He was rarely surprised. Yet, this young Council officer was making it a habit.

“And how do I know I can trust _your_ word, Council boy?” Spike finally replied.

Xander hitched a breath in surprise and stared back into Spike’s blue eyes.

“Counter offer mate. I take you and the cargo container back aboard the _DeSoto._ When we get out of range you open the cargo. If you’ve lied to me or have tricked me I will let you live long enough to watch me hunt down the wreck of this ship and kill every man, woman and child aboard. I might even attack a Council outpost in your honor. Do I make myself clear?”

There was no mistaking the menace and the promise in Spike’s voice. There was a reason he was called, Captain William the Bloody. Early in the Biogen wars, before the Council had called forth the Regents, Biogens like Spike had killed every natural human they had ever served. Whole families had been killed.

Xander nodded. _Wills,_ Xander thought, _I’m sorry I never got to say good-bye. I hope you understand. The Council may think I’m a soldier in name only; but you know otherwise._

“And if you double-cross me,” Xander answered just as deadly. “I promise I will find a way to make you hurt more than you ever thought it was possible to hurt.”

For just a moment Spike stood silent then laughed, “You’re too late, mate. You’re _way_ too late.”

Spike’s laughter scared Xander more than anything Spike had done or said yet. As sudden as Spike’s laughter had come; it went.

“Gunn, tell Fred we’re bringing the container over intact. And let my first mate know we got company,” Spike ordered. Xander had a brief moment to note Spike raising his arm again and then Xander’s world went black.

**TBC**


	2. (2/43 plus Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lt. “Xander” Harris and Captain William the Bloody have both suffered and lost in the on going war between the Biogens and Council. Now, Xander finds himself a prisoner of Captain William the Bloody (aka Spike). What will be Xander’s fate?

_“Gunn, tell Fred we’re bringing the container over intact. And let my first mate know we got company,” Spike ordered. Xander had a brief moment to note Spike raising his arm again and then Xander’s world black._

 **************************************************************************************************************************************************

Xander's world slowly waxed from black to a metallic gray. His right eye was open but something was too close to his face for him to focus properly. He tried to shake his head only to feel a hard weight press against his neck and face. _A boot,_ he silently recognized. _The bastard's got a boot to my neck!_  
  
The realization brought a flash of anger and a cascade of other discoveries. Xander pieced together he was flat on his stomach with his right cheek pressed to the floor and his hands bound behind his back. All Xander could see was the hard floor beneath him. _Fuck!_ Xander panicked. _I'm blind._ He tried to roll himself over or lift his torso up but the boot pressed painfully down on his neck and left cheek; holding Xander firmly in place.  
  
"Get the fuck off me!" Xander yelled.  
  
The boot ground Xander's cheek.  
  
"Keep quiet ya git!" Spike ordered.  
  
Xander tried to reply but the boot painfully ground in deeper. _Calm Xan-man,_  he mentally recited.  _What did Jesse always say, "Wait for your moment, not theirs."_ Xander forced himself to relax and concentrated on the sounds around him.  
  
"Sorry for the interruption, Fred," Spike said as he felt Xander go still. "What were you sayin'?"  
  
"Well," a woman, apparently Fred, began, "I could probably disarm the auto destruct but it would take time and I'd only have a fifty percent chance of success. I've been without access to the Council's weapons division for over two years now. ...and...well I'm sure they have made significant strides since then…and even if they haven't this could have some Cyber Mage interface technology....well I mean with Lt. Harris there being a known compatriot of Prefect Willow. I could try Spike but...."  
  
"I get it, luv," Spike said softly discontinuing Fred's babble. "If we want the shipment intact, we do it the whelp's way."  
  
"Or maybe you're just playing into a trap," said another woman. The voice sounded oddly familiar to Xander. _Who is she?_  
  
"He still has access to the Regent, and her inner council, not to mention inner Council codes,” the familiar sounding woman continued, “but he's riding passenger on some rink-dink transport? All I'm saying? Doesn't add up. I say space him and the cargo."  
  
"So wot," Spike asked, "You think they planted him on the ship hopin' we'd bleedin’ attack? That's rather hodge-podge innit?"  
  
"Well, they might not have been going after you, just any Biogen. Maybe he's the trap loaded for whoever attacks. We've been hittin' 'em hard. They'd want some pay back."  
  
"Don't seem like a Council plan to me," Gunn's voice interjected.  
  
"Council yes," Spike said, "not the Regent; too distant for her. She likes to get her hands dirty. 'Sides wouldn't do her image good if it were found out she set one of her _friends_ to cark it...even to off a Biogen."  
  
"Not unless it was a high value target," replied the mystery woman.  
  
"Well I don't think Xa-xan...Lt. Harris here would have any part of such a plan. I mean why would he?" Fred said. "What would he get out of it? Torture and death are not real... well rewarding rewards."  
  
 _Fred's a soft touch. Why she's with a bunch of Biogens and traitors is beyond me, but she's a soft touch,_ Xander thought. _Maybe I can use that? If they don’t go with the “space ‘em plan.”_  
 __  
"Eternal glory," answered a smooth cultured voice.  
  
Xander hissed in recognition. The boot ground hard in response. "I don't want to hear anything comin' out of that gob of yours until I tell ya!" Spike snarled.  
  
"I cannot say it is good to see you again, Mr. ...or I should say Lt. Harris," the voice said. __  


Xander knew that voice! _Wesley!_ _The mystery woman has got to be faithless Faith, the rouge Regent and a former Xan-man crush._ Xander suppressed a sigh. _I may be a total human but I have an amazing super power; crap luck._  

Wesley had been Faith's Watcher, her trainer and handler. Instead he'd led her into betraying the Council and joining with the Biogens; the very things she had been called forth by the Council to hunt and kill. _It’d be worth dying ignobly if I could take both of them out; let alone Captain the Bloody!_

Xander breathed deep trying to remain still despite the urge to confront Wesley and Faith. _My cheek and neck feel like ground chuck as it is,_ Xander silently noted. _No need to give the Brutal Blonde another reason to tenderize them more._  
  
"Wesley?" Fred asked in a small voice.  
  
 "Lt. Harris and I met several years ago when I was Faith's 'Watcher,'" Wesley's voice dripped with disdain for the title. "I knew him as a true and loyal friend to the Regent and to the cause of eradicating all Biogens. For him, a final mission to kill a Biogen, any Biogen would be a worthy epitaph."  
  
 _You know me for a whole of three months before you and your Regent take the “Betrayl Express" and you think you know what I want on my tombstone?_ Xander silently fumed.  _Look ma, he's traitorous and arrogant!_  
  
"Even if he hates Biogens as much as you say doesn't mean he'd agree to a plan like this...," Fred began to argue.  
  
"Enough!" Spike shouted. "I'm the captain here, or at least I was last time I checked."  
  
There was a silent pause.  
  
"Right then," Spike continued. "Here's wot we'll do. The rest of you clear out and seal off the bay here."  
  
"Wait a sec," Gunn and Faith began to interrupt at the same time.  
  
"I said you'll clear out," Spike shouted over the objections. "You'll seal off the bay and the Council boy and I will open the cargo container. If he's pulled a fast one and sumthin' happens to me then I expect the _DeSoto_ to make double time back to the _Snyder_ and make good on my promise to the whelp."  
  
"I don't like this plan," Faith said.  
  
"Ya don't have ta, luv," Spike replied with a slight lilt. "Just follow m'orders, yeah?"  
  
"We got your back, Spike," Gunn said.

Xander heard the sound of shuffling feet, a pressure door opening and then securely closing. When the hiss of the lock engaged Xander felt the boot left from his face. Before Xander had a chance to struggle to his knees a hand grabbed the back of his neck and lifted him to his feet. _Oh doesn’t this bring back fun memories?_ Xander thought.

“Now then, Harris,” Spike said as he shoved Xander up against the cargo face first into the container, “the codes. And if you are really are just a boob and a trap…and sumthin’ happens to me? Charlie’s gonna make good on my promises. Understand?”

“I’m half blind,” replied Xander, “not deaf you moronic mutant.”

Spike shook Xander by his neck so once again Xander’s vision was a fast forward blur. _He keeps this up and he’s going to get the_ Snyder _lunch special all over his boots,_ Xander thought.

“Council boy,” Spike said as he ceased shaking Xander, “I’m going to give you a little intel on Captain William the Bloody: I am not known for my patience! Now open the cargo container!”

“How do I know the _Snyder_ ’s out of range,” Xander asked as he tried to get the world back in focus.

The painful grip on Xander’s neck tightened and became excruciating until Xander thought he could begin to hear stress fractures in his vertebrae. Then the grip relaxed back down to painful.

Spike spun Xander around and slammed his back into the container. “I’m really startin’ ta get curious, boy; just what are your balls made of?”

“One hundred percent humanity, freak,” Xander retorted.

Spike smiled and gave a casual look up and down Xander’s body. “Maybe I’ll have to find out for myself?”

“I think I’d rather stick with the ‘space him’ plan.”

For a brief moment Spike’s eyes flashed their enhanced gold and then he sent chills down Xander’s spine. Spike laughed.

“What makes ya think ya get a vote, Council boy?”

Xander swallowed. _Jesse, you always said Biogens were freaky, but you didn’t tell me they were_ freaky!

“One more time,” Spike began again, “and don’t ask if the _Snyder’s_ out of range because if ya do? I’m going to turn the ship around and bring it in range…container or not. The codes, whelp, give me the codes.”

“Harris. Zed – Beta – Alpha – Jesse,” Xander reluctantly uttered.

“Security protocol override, Lt. Harris, member of Regent inner circle authorized,” the computer voice droned from the cargo container. “Enter voicescan.”

“ Willow,” answered Xander.

“Enter bioscan,” the computer replied.

Xander turned around and faced the security panel. Once again a small beam of light came out and scanned Xander’s right eye.

“Input complete. Security protocol parameters disengaged.”

“Open it,” Spike ordered.

Xander turned his and looked over his right shoulder at Spike. “And how would you suggest I do that blondie? Hands are bound here.”

“Right,” Spike said sounding almost well _human_ for a moment to Xander and not like a Biogen. The moment didn’t last. Spike shoved Xander a side, grasped the container door handle and turned. The pressure lock released and the container opened with a hiss.

Spike jumped. Xander rolled his eye.

“Everything looks good, Spike,” Fred’s cheery voice came on over the intercom. “Not detecting any explosives, radiation or biochem agents.”

Spike smiled and took a look inside.

“Well ducks, Angel’s going to be pleased,” Spike said as he peered at the inventory. “We scored a shipment of solider packs. We have basic meds and ammos for all a good soldier boys needs.”

The pressure doors hissed open on the cargo bay.

“Or in this case for us and folks on the outlying colonies,” Gunn said as he entered the room training a gun on Xander. _Willow_ _, you’d appreciate the funny in that,_ Xander thought. _Gunn’s gunnin’ for me._

Xander’s mouth betrayed him again and smiled at his internal joke.

“Sumthin’ amusin’ ya again, pet?” Spike asked.

“Just enjoying the show,” Xander replied. “Not every day you get to see trained apes with new toys.”

Spike snarled, grabbed Xander and threw him towards Gunn. Lucky for Xander, Gunn holstered his weapon and caught Xander before he went crashing to the floor again.

“Lock him up!” Spike ordered.

Gunn smiled. “My pleasure, sir.”

As Gunn maneuvered Xander out of the cargo bay he noticed two things a) Gunn was human and not a Biogen and b) it had been a long time since Xander had made a pit stop.

“I don’t suppose we can stop at the little boys room on the way to ‘lock up’,” Xander asked.

“Spike didn’t say anything about making any stops,” Gunn said with a cruel smile.

“So you always do with the Bio-butcher says?”

Once again Xander found himself slammed up against something solid. _Ok, my back and my cheek are well tenderized at this point_ , Xander thought. _Nor does the slammin' help with the bladder problem._

“Listen, soldier boy, don’t be spouting your Council propaganda at me. It won’t work. I know the score about Biogens and what they are fighting for and why. I owe ‘em and I owe Spike. And it wouldn’t take much more than a look and I’d be happy to decrease the population on this ship by one,” Gun snarled in an impressive outburst of words. “Do I make myself clear?”

“Waterford,” Xander muttered. _As in ‘crystal,’_ Xander thought.

Gunn snorted, yanked Xander forwarded and pushed him. Xander got the hint and started moving. All too soon they were through a small corridor and in front of a slim door. Gunn opened the door to a very small room.

 _You’ve got to be kidding me! That’s not a brig or a holding cell! That’s a closet,_ Xander thought.

Apparently Gunn wasn’t kidding because once again he grabbed Xander and shoved him forward into the small room. Xander didn’t have to worry about falling because there wasn’t that much room. He bounced off the back wall and before he could turn around the door slammed shut. In the dark Xander could hear the tumblers of the locking mechanism falling into place.

“Hey!” Xander shouted into the darkness. “No night light?”

Silence answered Xander.  Xander leaned back against the wall and let his head fall forward. _Fuck, Jesse,_ Xander thought. _When you told me there’d be days like these; you didn’t tell me there’d be days like_ these!

**TBC**


	3. (3/43 plus Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lt. “Xander” Harris and Captain William the Bloody have both suffered and lost in the on going war between the Biogens and Council. Now, Xander finds himself a prisoner of Captain William the Bloody (aka Spike). What will be Xander’s fate?

_"Apparently Gunn wasn’t kidding because once again he grabbed Xander and shoved him forward into the small room. Xander didn’t have to worry about falling because there wasn’t that much room. He bounced off the back wall and before he could turn around the door slammed shut. In the dark Xander could hear the tumblers of the locking mechanism falling into place._  
  
“Hey!” Xander shouted into the darkness. “No night light?” Silence answered Xander. 

_Xander leaned back against the wall and let his head fall forward. Fuck, Jesse, _Xander thought._ When you told me there’d be days like these; you didn’t tell me there’d be days like _these_! _"__

_**************************************************************************************************************************************************_  
  
Gunn stalked back into the cargo bay to find Fred and Wesley sorting through the packs dividing weapons from meds.  
  
"Solider boy secure?" asked Spike.  
  
"Yeah," replied Gunn. "Said he needs a visit to the head."  
  
 _Does he now,_ thought Spike. "I'll take care of it."  
  
"You?" replied Wes and Fred at the same time.  
  
"Wot?" Spike cocked an eyebrow at his shipmates. "Maybe it's time Lt. Harris learned a few things the Council would neglect ta teach him."  
  
"I am not sure that is the wisest of ideas, Spike," answered Wesley.  
  
"It's hardly Xander's fault he doesn't really know what's going on," Fred interjected. "I was on the Council payroll for years before I figured out the truth."  
  
Spike smiled affectionately at Fred. "Yes, luv, but at least you had a curious mind and went lookin' for the truth. Prats like Harris swallow Council bollocks hook, line and sinker then merrily muck up the galaxy for the rest of us."  
  
"Still," Wesley jumped in again, "Why are _you_ so interested in teaching _him_ a few things?'"  
  
Spike shrugged. "'M bored."  
  
"Right," Gunn huffed.  
  
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Spike asked spun to look at Gunn.  
  
"I'm not sayin' a word man," Gunn answered. _I'm no fool,_ he thought.  
  
"Spike, Xander is one of the Regent's closest friends. He _is_ the _best_ friend of Willow," Wesley continued. "Playing games with him is not a good idea."  
  
"Wes is right," Faith said as she stepped into the cargo area. "Xander's too hot. We need to space him, ditch him or ransom him. Whatever we do we can't be 'playin' him'."  
  
Spike looked at his crew. They were good, effective, damned loyal, and he had trusted them to hell and back. Some part of him knew they were probably right. _Better to be rid of the clot,_ Spike thought. Still, the boy's attitude rankled Spike deep. It got to him more than any Council member had gotten to him since Dr..... _NOT goin' there!_ Spike snarled as unwelcome memories tried to creep up on him.  
  
"Spike?" Faith said stepping toward her captain.  
  
"Finish gettin' this stuff sorted out. I'll see to the solider boy," Spike said as he twirled away from Faith and stormed out of the cargo bay.  
  
Wes and Fred stared at each other. Concern rippled through Fred's eyes.  
  
"Wes?" she asked.  
  
"He will be fine," Wes said as he laid a reassuring hand on Fred's shoulder.  Wes wasn’t sure whether he was referring to Spike or Xander. He hoped both.  
  
Faith and Gunn shared a look. They didn't need words to communicate. _Things aboard the DeSoto were about to get a whole lot more complicated._  
  
***  
  
To pee or not to pee, Xander silently rhymed as he shifted to lean against another wall and re-crossed his legs. _That is the question! Whether tis nobler in the...._  
  
Xander's thoughts and the dark of the room were interrupted by the sound of the door being unlocked and opened. Light flooded the room and blinded Xander's eye.  
  
"Hear you need a visit to the loo," growled Spike as he reached in and grabbed Xander by the arm.  
  
"Well, if it's on the way," Xander said as Spike drug him out of the "closet" and began to urge him down the hall.  
  
Spike didn't answer. He just kept shoving Xander forward. _Again, not helping with the bladder problem,_ Xander thought.  
  
Finally they reached another door. Spike opened it and shoved Xander inside, followed him in and shut the door behind them.  
  
"I like the upgrade," Xander said as he noted the some what larger and lighted room. Plus there appeared to be a urinal in the corner. Xander's bladder twitched with joy.  
  
"Haven't got all day," Spike said.  
  
"How many times I gotta point this out to you, blondie" Xander said as he looked over his shoulder. "Hands are tied."  
  
Spike was smiling again; a smile that didn't reach his unnaturally blue eyes.  
  
"Right. Guess I'm going to have to help ya then, yeah?" Spike said as he moved closer behind Xander.  
  
 _Ok, we have officially crossed into the "not good" zone here,_ Xander silently panicked as he was herded toward the urinal. When Xander was successfully herded close to the receptacle, Spike's hands circled in front of Xander's waist and began to undue his pants.  
  
"What the fuck do you think you are doing?" Xander yelled in an explosive mix of surprise and anger.  
  
"Givin' you a hand mate."  
  
"Get a way from me you psycho," Xander yelled again as he squirmed and tried to move away from Spike.  
  
Spike grabbed Xander by the waist and held him in a painful grasp.  
  
"You can either do it this way, or I'll take you back to the hatch and lock ya in until you're drowin' in your own piss," Spike whispered in Xander's ear.  
  
Xander froze. _This lunatic is serious!_ Anger and humiliation rolled through Xander like a summer storm. _Biogens, soulless fuckin' bastards!_ Xander internally screamed. He knew his choices weren't really choices at all, just lessons in humiliation and degradation.  
  
"What's it going ta be, solider boy?" Spike purred in his ear again.  
  
 _Fuck you!_ Xander mentally screamed while giving the barest and stiffest of nods.  
  
"Good choice mate," Spike said as he finished undoing the fastening of Xander's pants. With more gentleness than Xander thought a Biogen capable of, Spike reached into Xander's pants and withdrew Xander’s penis.  
  
"Nice bit a tackle ya got there," Spike commented as he adjusted his hold on Xander's delicate flesh and aimed it toward the urinal. "Seems your balls ain't made a brass after all; they’re all soft and human like ya said."  
  
Xander closed his eye and ignored Spike. Instead, Xander concentrated on trying to relieve the painful pressure inside. Xander's concentration failed. No matter how hard Xander tried; he couldn’t ignore the fact someone else was holding his penis while he tried to relieve himself. __  
  
Not just someone, Xander thought, _a Biogen! Captain fuckin' William the fuckin' Bloody is holding my rod while I try and pee!_ For all Xander's efforts he only succeeded in causing his face to flush in anger, his bladder to grow more uncomfortable and Spike to become more amused.  
  
"Havin' problems, whelp? Bit a' performance anxiety?" Spike asked enjoying Xander's humiliation. "Here, let me give ya another hand."  
  
Spike snaked another hand low over Xander's abdomen and then began to firmly press. It didn't take long for Xander's beleaguered bladder to respond. The room was suddenly filled with the acrid smell of fresh urine and a steady yellow stream was escaping from Xander. The bliss of release was so intense Xander sighed.  
  
"How does it feel, Harris?" Spike's voice killed the brief moment of relief for Xander. "How does it feel to be a _thing?_ To have no control over your life, your body or your most basic needs? How does it feel to have your will mean nothing?"  
  
Xander refused to answer.  
  
"Hmmm, Harris?" Spike continued. "Is it humiliating? Does it make you angry? Do you want to _kilI_ me?"  
  
"I wanted to kill you before you proved what sick degenerates Biogens are!" Xander finally snarled.  
  
Spike laughed. _Chicken or the egg mate,_ Spike thought. _Chicken or the egg._  
  
"Now let's give that willie a little shake then," Spike said when the stream from Xander finally ended. Xander bit his lip as he suffered through the next bit of humiliation as Spike shook and wiggled Xander's penis getting rid of any excess urine. Then Spike gently tucked Xander back in and refastened Xander's pants. Spike stepped back and Xander immediately moved as far from Spike as the room allowed.  
  
Once again Spike laughed. He then moved over to the tiny sink in the room and began to wash his hands.  
  
"You should be grateful, Harris," Spike said as he rinsed his soapy hands under running water. "Some people think it's a luxury to have some _thing_ around to do their nasty work...to keep their hands from getting dirty. Some people would pay a lot of money for that...some people did."

"Oh is this the part where I break down in pity for you?" Xander asked still reeling in rage and humiliation. "You and your kind are a fuckin' science experiment, a bad one at that! You were born in a tube and grown. It sucks. Life often does. Doesn't give you a license to kill, maim and be a general boil on the butt of humanity!"  
  
Spike dried his hands and turned to face Xander. Spike's eyes were flecked with gold.  
  
"Deep thinker there aren't you, Harris?" Spike said as he began to cross the room back toward Xander. "You think we should have just stayed the course? Kept makin' nice and pretendin' to be knackered while lettin' the _pure humans_ play God and such while they made the devil blush?"  
  
Spike pressed close to Xander until they were chest to chest. Xander could see the swirling gold in Spike's eyes and the barely restrained ridges of his enhanced face itching to come to forth.  
  
"You started this war," Xander hissed. "Tell me Spike, what deviltry were the children you killed doing? What great and powerful threat could they have possibly been to you?"  
  
Spike slammed his fists on either side of Xander's head. The ridges in Spike face surged forth and his eyes went pure gold.  
  
"That was a long time ago, Harris. And I was a different person then."  
  
"See," Xander seethed. "That's the problem. _You_ aren't a person."  
  
Spike snarled and grabbed Xander's face with his left hand. Spike's long fingers and thumb squeezed painfully into Xander's cheekbones.  
  
Xander went rigid. Terror flooded through him. _NOT AGAIN!_ his mind screamed. _Oh God please not again!_ Images and sensations pulsed through Xander. He felt the firm hold on his face as the thumb gouged through his eye. Xander heard the snarl from Jesse as he came running too late to save Xander's eyesight but not too late to die. Xander felt the searing pain of the loss of his eye and best friend while a Biogen laughed and made his escape before back-up forces arrived.  
  
"If I were you, wh..." Spike began to snarl then stopped. The room was suddenly filled with the strong scent of fear and the boy's heart rate was approaching light speed. The boy was breaking out in a sweat and his breathing was hitched. The chocolate eye that had never failed to meet Spike's fiercest gaze was glazed looking and unfocused.  
  
 _What the fuck is going on?_ Spike thought. The boy had been mouthy, a pain in the arse and a royal complication but he hadn't been afraid. Oddly, Spike felt his own heart rate speed up in response to Xander's distress. Slowly, Spike released his hold on Xander and then retreated back to the sink.  
  
"Harris," Spike softly called. The boy didn't respond.  
  
 _"Lt. Harris,"_ Xander remembered Riley questioning him, " _Why did you break protocol? Why didn't you call for immediate back-up?"_  
  
"Harris," Spike tried again, "Xander."  
  
Xander heard his name. He blinked his eye and looked around. Spike was over by the sink again. _When had he moved?_  
  
"Xander," Spike said again as he saw Xander's focus return.  
  
"What?" Xander simply answered.  
  
Spike stared at the boy. He looked tired and achingly human.  
  
"Time for lunch," was all Spike could think to say as once again he took hold of Xander's arm, opened the door and ushered his prisoner out of the bathroom.  
[  
](http://stillrose.livejournal.com/8721.html#cutid1) **TBC**


	4. (4/43 plus Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lt. “Xander” Harris and Captain William the Bloody have both suffered and lost in the on going war between the Biogens and Council. Now, Xander finds himself a prisoner of Captain William the Bloody (aka Spike). What will be Xander’s fate?

_Spike stared at the boy. He looked tired and achingly human.  
  
"Time for lunch," was all Spike could think to say as once again he took hold of Xander's arm, opened the door and ushered his prisoner out of the bathroom._

************************************************************************************************************************************************

  
Xander mentally shook himself free of the remnants of his flashback as Spike guided him through connecting corridors and down a level. _Way to go Xan-man,_ he thought. _Just let the psycho killer know what a mental defect you are. No doubt he’ll use that to play in all the latest fun torture games._  
  
“Watch yer step,” Spike ordered as Xander stumbled on the stairs leading down.  
  
“Right,” Xander replied, “Cuz we wouldn’t want me to break my neck _before_ you break my neck.”  
  
 _Whelp’s getting back to normal,_ Spike thought as he tightened his hold on Xander’s arm keeping the boy safely close to him as they continued to go down the stairs.  
  
“Well, you wouldn’t want to disappoint me would ya?” Spike said.  
  
“Only every moment I’m alive,” Xander smoothly provoked his enemy.  
  
“Is stupidity a required course at the Council Academy?” Spike asked as they reached the bottom of the stairs and he jerked Xander face-to-game face with him.  
  
“No, I’m just naturally gifted,” Xander answered without thinking. _Oh that was smooth!_ Xander mentally kicked himself.  
  
Spike looked stunned for a moment and then laughed. “Of that I have no doubt, pet.”  
  
Once again Xander found himself jerked forward though another corridor and then through a hatchway that opened up into a large room which was obviously the mess area. Several people were already seated there; the large black man Xander had previously identified as Gunn, Wesley and a thin woman with bright sunny eyes and long thick brown hair.  
  
The woman got up from the table and almost seemed to bounce over to the doorway. She held out her hand while beaming a warm smile at Xander.  
  
“Hi! I’m Fred,” she began, “short for Winifred Burkle, but everyone calls me Fred. It’s really nice to meet you, Xander, can I call you Xander? Nothing personal, but we don’t recognize Council rank on the _DeSoto_ , makes Spike cranky. Speaking of which I’m really glad Spike didn’t space you.”  
  
Xander blinked. _I may have just been out babbled,_ he thought.  
  
“Uh,” Xander started and tilted a shoulder forward in response to Fred’s offered hand.  
  
“Oh right!” Fred blushed. “Sorry, forgot. Just not used to having prisoners aboard.”  
  
Fred reached out and hooked an arm through Xander’s arm. Fred tugged at Xander’s arm and shot Spike a look. Spike released his hold and allowed Fred to guide Xander to a chair next to where she had been sitting. It was a little too close to the traitor Wesley for Xander’s comfort.  
  
“Don’t undo his hands, luv,” Spike said as he took his own chair across from Xander.  
  
“Right, cuz my table manners have been classified as code three weapons,” Xander said.  
  
Fred laughed nervously. Spike and Xander just glared across the table at each other.  
  
“Well, Spike,” Fred finally said, “he has to eat or at least drink something.”  
  
“No, I’m good,” Xander said. _No way do I want anything. Anything leads to a full bladder. A full bladder leads to…,_ Xander gleefully derailed that uncomfortable and humiliating train of thought.  
  
“Xander,” Wes interjected into the exchange, “what were you doing aboard _The_ _Snyder_?”  
   
“Enough with the pleasantries, right down to business, eh Wes?” Xander replied as he faced the former Watcher.  
  
“Well, yes,” answered Wesley. “I see no point in delaying the inevitable.”  
  
“You’re obviously not sitting where I am, are you?” Xander answered.  
  
“Harris, Wes asked you a question,” Spike warned.  
  
“And what? You think I’m really going to answer?”  Xander swerved his gaze back to the blonde Biogen captain.  
  
“Xander, it would be better if you would just answer the question,” said Wesley.  
  
“And if you weren’t such a traitor…” Xander let the insult hang.  
  
“Give me five minutes alone with him, Wes,” Gunn sneered from somewhere behind Xander. “In six minutes he’ll have an attitude change and a whole lot of answers.”  
  
“In six minutes,” Xander smoothly replied, “you’ll only have a lot of blood and other icky stuff on your boots, which will be devilishly hard to get out, but I promise you will have no answers.”  
  
Spike watched the exchange. _Where was the fear the boy had in the bathroom? What brought it on?_ Xander was scared now, but he wasn’t panicked. He’s heart rate was elevated but steady. His breathing was even and he wasn’t perspiring above normal. _What makes this boy tick?_ Spike wondered.  
  
“Give it a rest,” Faith voice entered the room before she did. “Ya know Xander, Wes. He may be nothing more than a glorified errand boy, but he’s a loyal errand boy.”  
  
Xander’s focused whipped over to Faith. _How you broke Jesse’s heart!_ Xander silently snarled as he watched her enter the room.  
  
Faith felt the animosity directed her way and looked at Xander. _What’s eatin him?_ she thought.  
  
“Xan,” she acknowledged.  
  
“Faith,” Xander cooly replied.  
  
“What’s the word, gorgeous?” Spike asked noting the odd tension.  
  
“Angel, wants us to take the med supplies to…,” Faith paused for a moment and then continued, “…to one of the out lying colonies. I’ll give the coordinates to Wes later.”  
  
“Ah c’mon, Faith,” Xander goaded. “Thought we were doing a community share here?”  
  
Faith smiled; the one Xander used to associate with a killing strike. “If we’re sharing here, Xan, maybe you can tell me why Jesse wasn’t with you on this little mission. Not like B, to send you out with out someone who can help you tie your shoe laces.”  
  
Xander snarled and jumped to his feet knocking over his chair. Gunn moved forward instantly and grabbed Xander’s shoulders.  
  
“You don’t fuckin speak his name!”  
  
Faith eyes narrowed. _Ok, that wasn’t the response I was going for,_ she thought. _There’s something there._  
  
“Why’s that? Brings back fun memories,” Faith purred.  
  
Xander struggled under Gunn’s grasp. “He hated you. You fuckin used him and he hated you!”  
  
 _Hated?_ Faith noted. _What’s with the past tense?_ She was starting to get a bad feeling about this.  
  
“Hated, huh,” Faith replied as she moved closer to Xander. “Sounds like he got over me.”  
  
“Yeah, he did,” Xander spat. “He died.”  
  
Faith paled for a moment. _Oh Jesse! Oh Xander!_  
  
“Killed by one of your new pals,” Xander continued to explain. “Ripped a part by a fucking soulless Biogen!”  
  
Spike’s eyes narrowed at the exchange. Xander’s heart rate was racing again.  
  
“Xander,” Faith said quietly, “I’m so sor….”  
  
“Don’t say it,” Xander interrupted. “I’ve heard enough of your lies. I don’t care to hear one more.”  
  
“Harris,” Spike said quietly, “sit back down.”  
  
Xander rolled his eye back over to look at Spike. There was no reading the Biogen. Gunn pushed down on Xander’s shoulders. Xander sat down in the chair Wes righted.  
  
“Finish your report, luv,” Spike said to Faith.  
  
“Angel wants the weapons back on Hyperion.”  
  
 _Hyperion!_ Xander noted through his pain and anger. _Hyperion was the Mecca of Biogens! Its Angel’s base of operations, if I can somehow stay alive, get coordinates to Hyperion and some how escape…well for one I wouldn’t be Xander Harris. However, it would be quite a blow to the Biogens!_  
  
“What about Harris?” Spike asked.  
  
“Well you know what Angel would prefer,” Faith replied. “However, he notes that this is your ship so he’s leaving it up to you.’  
  
Spike looked back again at the boy. “Suggestions?”  
  
“Space ‘em,” growled Gunn.  
  
“Charles!” exclaimed Fred.  
  
Wes smiled at Fred. “I don’t think we have to do anything as extreme. We could perhaps leave him at a Council relay station. He could activate a distress beacon and there would be enough supplies and life support to last until help arrived.”  
  
Xander worked at suppressing the flood of images and terror the thought of relay station triggered. _I can’t do that again,_ he silently panicked.  
  
Once again Spike noted the boy’s elevated hear rate and this time the quickened breathing. _Why do I care?_ He wondered.  
  
“Faith?” Spike asked.  
  
“Well,” Faith began to answer. _This isn’t going to win me any popularity points,_ she thought before finishing. “I think we should sell him on one of the underground markets run by the Raiders.”  
  
“What?!” shouted Fred and Wesley.  
  
Xander just stared at Faith. _  
_  
“Listen,” Faith continued, “Xander’s important to B and he’s important to Willow. By now they know he was taken prisoner. They’ll be looking for him. We kill him; we only fire them up for blood. We strand him, they find him too soon and they might be able to get a bead on us. We sell him, we make a small bit of credit and B and Willow’s efforts will be spent looking into the Raider’s markets and tracking him down.”  
  
“And that keeps the Council’s two best weapons off us for awhile and gets them tied up in the Raider problem,” Gunn acknowledged the plan with a smile.  
  
“You take the cake you know Faith? You really should have been called Faithless, or Freak or perhaps just Heartless,” Xander snarled. “Death’s not good enough for you. No, you think slavery’s a better option? I’m glad Jesse is dead. He thought it was bad when you betrayed the Council. If he could see you now he’d probably want to castrate himself rather than have the memory of sleeping with such a….”  
  
“Sombody shut him, up,” Spike ordered as he saw the pain behind Faith’s eyes at Xander’s vicious verbal attack.  
  
“Gladly,” Gunn muttered as clamped a hand over Xander’s mouth. Xander struggled and bit at Gunn’s hand.  
  
“Somebody get me a rag or something before I kill ‘im!” Gunn snarled in pain but didn’t release his hold on Xander’s mouth.  
  
Surprisingly, to Xander, it was Fred who rushed to answer Gunn’s order and brought back a rag and a long strip of cloth from the nearby galley. Gunn released his hold.  
  
“Get your filthy hands…!” was all Xander had time to shout before Gunn stuffed a rag into Xander’s open mouth and then secured it by tying the cloth around it and the back of Xander’s head.  
  
With Xander gagged Gunn stepped back.  
  
“Let me look at that, Charles,” Fred said as she took Gunn’s hand and examined where Xander had bit him. “It’s not too bad. I’ll get the med kit and spray a dermal seal on it.”  
  
 _So much for making use of her ‘soft touch,’_ Xander silently fumed as Fred quickly trotted off to get the med kit to treat Gunn’s hand.  
  
“What are you going to do, Spike?” Wes silently asked after the commotion had settled.  
  
Spike wished he was on Hyperion so he could have a gasper. However, smoking on a ship was bleedin’ suicidal. He sighed and looked back at the whelp. Harris was flushed with anger; his chocolate eye was bright and darting back and forth. A lock of his thick dark hair curled down over his forehead.  
  
The boy was a git, a prat, and a pillock! He was annoying, mouthy and disruptive. He fascinated Spike and Spike was always hard pressed to turn away from a bit of shiny.  
  
“I’m going to keep him,” Spike answered.  
  
The room grew quiet as the crew and prisoner focused their attention on the bemused captain.  
  
“Spike?” Wes was the first to break the silence.  
  
“I’m going to claim him as Captain’s mate,” Spike answered. Xander’s eye widened and he desperately tried to shout something through his gag.  
  
 _I’d rather serve a Raider! Strand me on a station! Space me!_ Xander thought.  
  
“Whoa, Spike…” Faith began.  
  
“It’s simple. We keep Harris on the _DeSoto_ , then her Royal Cow won’t know where to look. She can assume we still have him, and if she does, she comes after us leaving Hyperion and the outlying colonies loyal to us alone.”  
  
“And we become a constant target,” Faith said.  
  
“We can deal with it,” replied Gunn. Spike smiled. He really liked his gunner.  
  
“That’s not the point,” Faith said. “How many missions is Angel going to be able to send us on if the Council and B are constantly looking for us?”  
  
“The ones where he doesn’t have to worry about the Council dustin’ the _DeSoto_. The Regent won’t take that chance as long as her favorite errand boy is on board.”  
  
“But why Captain’s mate?” asked Wesley.  
  
“Simple,” Spike sneered while piercing Xander’s panicked gaze with his. “The Council took away my Dru; my _first_ Captain’s Mate. They can give me another one. Regent’s pet becomes my pet. Only fair.”  
  
“Angel’s not going to like this,” interjected Fred.

“Angel left it up to me didn’t he? He’ll deal,” Spike said as he stood up and headed for the hatchway effectively signaling the end of discussion on the matter." Gunn, Fred, you take Harris to my cabin and get him collared. I’ll go make my own report to the grand poobah poofter.”  
  
Xander was practically lifted from his seat and once again he was manhandled; this time by Gunn.  
  
“C’mon,” Gunn growled. “Don’t give me any trouble because Spike didn’t say you had to be awake when I got you to the cabin. I’ll meet you at the Captain’s, Fred.”  
  
Xander didn’t fight. _The last thing I want is to be asleep in Spike’s cabin,_ Xander thought trying not to think about what else he didn’t want to be in Spike’s cabin. Instead Xander tried to focus on how they got to the cabin and to add the route into his internal mapping of the ship.  
  
Gunn led Xander through another serious of corridors and eventually stopped at another hatchway. Gunn turned the knob and opened the hatch. He shoved Xander inside. This was the largest room outside the cargo bay Xander had seen yet. Xander observed that it must be pretty spacious given its relative size and the size of the _DeSoto._ There appeared to be at least two rooms, in fact. The room Xander had been shoved into first was some sort of sitting or living area.  
  
“Keep moving,” Gunn growled and pointed Xander toward the hatchway on the far end of the room. Xander kept moving, not willing to provoke Gunn.  
  
Xander rethought his strategy when he realized Gunn had directed him straight into the bedroom area. There was a medium size bed that took up most of the space in the room, a dresser and another small hatchway. Xander assumed the other hatchway might lead to some sort of private bathroom.  
  
Gunn pushed Xander. Xander resisted. Gunn pushed harder and Xander went stumbling into the room and falling on top of the Spike’s bed. _Oh joy,_ Xander thought. _More lessons in humiliation and degradation!_  
  
“Gunn?” Xander heard Fred call out from the other room.  
  
“In here,” Gunn replied and stepped farther into the room making space for Fred.  
  
“What are we doing in here?”  Fred asked.  
  
 _Soft and naïve,_ Xander thought as he rolled over to face his captors.  
  
“He’s Captain’s mate,” crooned Gunn, “where else would he be?”  
  
“Charles,” Fred sighed and chastised but didn’t object.  
  
 _Soft, naïve, and yet unquestioningly loyal,_ Xander reminded himself.  
  
“Fred here,” Gunn began as he moved forward and once again grabbed Xander by the shoulders from behind. “She’s going to put a special collar on you. You fight or give her any grief and I’m going to make you hurt and hurt bad. Then I’ll still have her put the collar on you. Understand?”  
  
Xander nodded. _Let’s just get this next round of ‘humiliate the helpless one-eyed guy’ done and over with,_ he thought.  
  
“This isn’t going to hurt you or anything,” Fred said as she moved forward and secured a smooth green and metal collar around Xander’s neck. “Well at least if you don’t hurt anyone else.”  
  
 _What’s that supposed to mean?_ Xander thought. He didn’t have too much time to ponder the question before he felt Gunn grabbing him once more, this time under Xander’s arms, and dragging him up toward the headboard. Xander heard a loud click near his collar as Gunn attached it to something. Suddenly Xander found himself restrained to the bed by his neck.  
  
“Charles,” Fred once again chastised. “Is that really necessary?”  
  
“I’m taking no chances with him loose in Spike's cabin,” Gunn replied.  
  
“He’s bound and gagged and collared. What harm can he do?” Fred asked.  
  
“He’s Council, Fred,” Gunn replied and started to undo Xander’s shirt and pat him down.  
  
“Now what are you doing?” Fred asked.  
  
 _Oh give it up, Fred,_ Xander thought. _We obviously have many many more rounds of "humiliate and degrade" to play before we move into the bonus "utter debasement" round._  
  
“Making sure he has no weapons hidden anywhere,” Gunn replied as he now moved and patted down Xander’s legs and ankles. Gunn then removed Xander’s shoes and stowed them away.  
  
 _Right, there goes those hidden explosives in my heels,_ Xander wished and rolled his eye.  
  
“But Charles he can’t hurt anybody now,” Fred argued.  
  
Gunn made another sweep of patting down Xander’s body before hovering over his face. Gunn’s eyes narrowed as he examined Xander’s patch. Xander’s breath hitched.  
  
 _No fuckin’ way! That’s far enough muscle boy!_ Xander silently dismayed.  
  
Gunn ignored the fear and outrage in Xander’s right eye and lifted the patch over the left eye to see the sunken and collapsed eyelid. Xander screamed in anguished shock, turned his head and bucked for all he was worth.  
  
“Charles, stop it!” Fred ordered in an astonishingly commanding voice.  
  
“Fred, it’s my job to protect this ship,” Gunn said as he backed off his hold on Xander, “and the lives of its crew. I need to search him for anything that might harm us or Spike. I need to be thorough in that search and that means looking everywhere I’d hide something.”  
  
“Then let me do it,” Fred said quietly.  
  
“Fred…,” Gunn began to argue.  
  
“Charles, move,” Fred ordered.  
  
Gunn moved away from Xander and Fred moved forward to hover over Xander. Xander wearily met her gaze. _Not you too_ , _Fred,_ Xander thought.  
  
“Xander,” Fred said softly as looked him in the eye and began to stroke the sweat matted hair on Xander’s forehead. “I’m sorry. I really am but Charles needs to make sure you aren’t a threat. I know you aren’t.”  
  
 _There went the last of my ego,_ Xander tried to snark to himself.  
  
“But we need to check,” Fred continued. “I don’t want to hurt you and I don’t want you to be afraid. I’m just going examine your left eye; that’s all. Once I do that we’re done. Charles and I will leave you alone. Ok?”  
  
Xander held Fred’s gaze. He couldn’t see any deceit there and at this point he was tired, successfully humiliated and the offer of being left alone sounded almost heavenly. Xander closed his good eye and once again gave the barest and stiffest of nods.  
  
Xander felt Fred lift his patch and then very gently lift his useless eyelid. She held the flesh back only for a second and then released it. Quickly she lowered his patch and then Xander felt the press of cool soft lips to his forehead.  
  
“Thank you, Xander,” Fred said and then moved away from him. “We’re done here, Charles.”  
  
“Fred,” Xander heard Gunn begin to protest.  
  
“We’re done,” Fred said again firmly. “Anything else you’d do wouldn’t be about protecting the ship and you know it.”  
  
Xander heard a pause and then heard Fred quietly say, “Gunn, he’s not one of those who attacked your home or killed your sister.”  
  
“How do you know?” Xander heard the choked reply.  
  
“I just do. It’s not in him and if you want to be sure, ask Faith,” Fred answered.  
  
Then Xander heard the sound of bodies moving and a hatch door closing. Xander opened his eye. He was alone as promised.  
  
Xander lay back. He could turn his head but he couldn’t lift it. He was lying on his bound hands which were just starting to become numb from the strangled circulation. Xander twisted his body as far as the collar restraint would let him and eased the pressure on his hands. Xander’s shirt was still undone letting the ships circulating air reach his skin and chill him.  
  
A small tear began to slide down from the corner of Xander’s right eye. _Oh Jesse, Willow,_ Xander thought. _I’m miss you guys so much and I’m so in over my head here._  
  
The events of the day began to catch up to Xander and felt his body give over to the need for rest. Xander’s right eye slowly closed and he fell asleep.  
  


**TBC**


	5. (5/43 plus Epilogue)

_The events of the day began to catch up to Xander and felt his body give over to the need for rest. Xander’s right eye slowly closed and he fell asleep._

***************************************************************************************************************************************************  
  
Several hours later Spike leaned against the arch of the hatchway and stared at the young man asleep on his bed. Xander lay breathing deeply and was turned as much on his side as the collar restraint would allow him. His legs were scissored and looking like they were the only part of him that was comfortable; they were the only part of him unbound. Xander’s hands were still tied and twisted behind him.  
  
There was a slight stirring in Spike’s groin at the sight. Spike arched his eyebrows. _That’s unexpected,_ he thought, _must be gaggin’ for it._  
  
Still, there was something about the boy and Spike was feeling something he hadn’t felt in a long time, _not since Dr…._ Spike stopped his thoughts. _Angel’s been good enough for my occasional snoggin’ and shaggin’ needs. No need ta break wot ain’t broke._  
  
Spike moved forward into the room. Xander’s right eyelid lifted.  There was no sign of sleep induced grogginess in the gaze that caught Spike’s. Spike paused and studied the gaze. _Harris is afraid, nervous, and angry but he isn’t with terror like he was in the loo earlier._  
  
“What a nummy-treat we have here,” Spike smiled and taunted.  
  
Spike didn’t need to be psychic to read the “Fuck you!” in Xander’s eye. Spike moved forward and sat down on the bed. Xander rolled completely on his back: it was as far from Spike as he could get.   
  
Xander longed to grit his teeth as Spike played with his open shirt, but the gag prevented it. All Xander could do is shoot hateful looks at his tormentor.  
  
“See Charlie boy here has searched ya,” Spike observed and then let loose of Xander’s shirt tails to finger the collar around Xander’s neck. “Guess you’ll be wantin’ an explanation about this?”  
  
 _Oh goody,_ Xander thought, _here’s the part where I get to learn to call you ‘Master’ and the speech about how I’ll learn to love my collar._  
  
“Here’s the crunch,” Spike began, “this collar is an ingenious little brainchild of Fred’s.”  
  
 _Fred?_ Xander thought.   
  
“It’s a modification on the chip technology they used to use on us Biogens,” Spike continued.  
  
 _Chip technology? What was the psycho sociopath rattling on about now?_ Xander wondered.  
  
“Now, here are the rules and they are very simple. You don’t go anywhere you aren’t supposed to go and you don’t try and hurt any of the crew and this collar remains just a annoying bit of bling,” Spike paused for effect and to make sure the boy was listening to him. “You break the rules and this collar will send so much pain into your brain that you’ll think that’s all you ever were and will ever be. Understand?”  
  
Xander narrowed his eyes and studied his captor. _Was he serious?_  Xander silently asked. Xander nodded his head.  
  
“Right then, it also takes a special tool to remove it and you don’t have it. So don’t waste your time trying to get it off,” Spike said. “For now my cabin’s the only place you are authorized to be so don’t attempt to leave it.”  
  
Spike then leaned over Xander and unclipped the collar from the bed. “Roll over,” he then ordered.   
  
Xander hesitated; he didn’t want Spike to be out of sight.  
  
“Harris, roll over ya git,” Spike growled. Xander rolled over and was mentally and painfully relieved to feel his hands untied. Blood rushed back into his hands and Xander couldn’t bite back the whimper at the needle like sensation. However, Xander refused to lie there on his stomach unable to watch what Spike would do next so he flipped himself back over to his back, sat up and then cradled his hands close to him.  
  
Spike watched the boy trying to work out the pain in his hands while trying to work back in the normal feeling. “Here,” he said gruffly as he grabbed one hand and began to massage it.  
  
Xander tried to hiss but the gag prevented it. The massage was painful but oddly helpful. Xander used his other hand to clumsily work the binding cloth over his head and then used his tongue to push the wadded material out of his mouth.   
  
“Anks,” Xander croaked as Spike released the first hand and grabbed the next hand to repeat the procedure.  
  
“Well you can’t be much of CM without your hands, can ya?” Spike replied needing to cover his unexplainable desire to help Xander.  
  
Xander blanched. _Right, silly me forgot there is no act of kindness among monsters just self-serving agendas._  
  
Xander jerked his hand away from Spike and glared at him. “I got it from here.”  
  
 _Stubborn little piker ain’t he?_ Spike suppressed a smile.  
  
“Right,” Spike said, stood up and moved over to the dresser. He rummaged threw a few drawers. _Might have some of Angel’s garm hanging around,_ Spike thought as he rummaged, _my kit will never fit the whelp._  
  
Xander continued to rub and massage his hands as he watched Spike search. _What’s he looking for?_ Xander wondered nervously.  
  
“Here we are,” Spike said as he stood up and turned around with a handful of clothes. “Might be a bit big but this’ll fit ya better than my stuff.”  
  
“I got clothes, Captain Crazy,” Xander replied as he edged himself to the other side of the bed and away from Spike. He wasn’t about to wonder whose clothes Spike held.  
  
“No, pet,” Spike said, “You got a uniform…a Council uniform and you won’t be wearing it and any tracers it might have on _my_ ship.”  
  
“Fine, let me off at the nearest Council loyal colony and problem solved,” Xander replied as he stood up on the far side of the bed.  
  
“Pet...,” Spike began again.  
  
“News flash, I’m not a cat or a dog; I’m something you can never hope to be a _pure_ human,” Xander interrupted, “ _not_ a pet.”  
  
“Pet,” Spike emphasized the word, “try to use that tiny brain of yours to understand you’re mine now and you’ll no longer need that uniform. Now strip.”  
  
“And you try and use what ever organic mass that passes as your brain to understand that I am Lt. Alexander LaVelle Harris of the Council Initiative and I will….”  
  
“Harris, you can either take your clothes off _now_ or I can do it for you,” Spike growled.  
  
Xander stared at Spike. Memories of what happened in the bathroom came back to Xander and a) he knew Spike wasn’t kidding and b) he so wasn’t up for another round of hands-on humiliation.  
  
“You know,” Xander said as he turned his back to Spike and began stripping, “some day soon Buffy is going to find me and she is so going to kick your ass.”  
  
Spike lay Angel’s old clothes on the bed and sat down. He really hadn’t intended to watch Harris strip. Spike really had only wanted to get rid of that cursed Council uniform, but once again he found himself fascinated by the boy; man in front of him.   
  
Harris had a nice full build with firm muscles. He was taller and had more mass then Spike. Sometimes he moved like he wasn’t comfortable in that solid body and sometimes, like at the moment, he moved with a seductive grace. _Bet he only moves like that when he’s not thinking about what he’s doing,_ Spike mused.   
  
Spike watched with interest as Xander slipped his pants down over his ass. _Nice tight arse,_ Spike noted even with the boxers in place. ”Trolley’s too,” Spike ordered.  
  
“Oh, you’ve found out the Council’s secret weapon,” Xander sneered as he jerked down his boxers, “Bugged underwear.”  
  
“Right then,” Spike said from his perch on the bed when the whelp was nude. “Now if ya want ya can get a shower.”  
  
Xander turned his head over his shoulder to look at Spike. Spike pointed at the smaller hatchway in the bedroom.   
  
_A shower,_ Xander thought with longing. It was appealing. _But what’s the catch?_  
  
“You won’t have water for long and I wouldn’t call it hot, but it’ll get ya clean,” Spike said.   
  
Xander cupped himself and began moving around the bed as best he could while keeping his back to Spike. _Not going to give him a floor show,_ Xander vowed.  
  
Spike rolled his eyes. “No need to be shy, Harris. Already had a meet and greet with you’re bishop and cobblers.”   
  
“Thanks for the stroll down memory lane,” Xander grunted.  
  
“Anytime, pet,” Spike smiled. When Xander got to the hatchway Spike spoke again, “Oh and pet?”  
  
“Spike?” Xander paused and answered through gritted teeth.  
  
“I hope your Buffy does come lookin’ for ya. It’d be nice to bag my third Regent.”  
  
Xander whirled around too look at Spike and slammed his hands against the hatchway, “In your dreams you demented degenerate!”  
  
Spike only smiled as he made a casual sweep with his gaze down the length of Xander’s fully exposed body. Xander’s whole body flushed in anger and embarrassment.   
  
_You might as well just have strings attached,_ Xander derided himself, _as easily as you let him play you._  
  
“Fucking soulless Biogen!” Xander said before he turned around and marched into the small bathroom.  
  
Spike laughed. _If nothing else,_ Spike thought, _the boy is entertaining._ Then Spike stood up and gathered Xander’s discarded uniform and snagged the shoes Gunn had stowed. Fred was waiting to check the kit out for tracers before he had her put them through the reclamation process.   
  
Then Spike thought he’d stop off at the galley and pick up something to bring back to the cabin _. Not sure when the boy ate or drank last but I know it wasn’t several hours ago with the rest of the crew,_ Spike observed.  
  
Spike made a final visual inspection of the cabin and then paused to listen to what Xander was doing. Spike heard muttered curses and the water running. Spike smiled again and then left the cabin.  
  
***  
Spike hadn’t been lying when he said the water wouldn’t last long. Xander barely had time to rinse the soap and grime off before the water cut out. Still, Xander was grateful to be clean and to do something mundane. His emotions and thoughts had been running all over the place since _The Snyder_ had come under attack.   
  
Showering had given Xander not only the opportunity to wash the stink of fear from himself but also to try and center his thoughts. _Ok, Xan-man,_ Xander mentally coached as he flipped the dryers on to so he could dry, _let’s analyze the situation. Crew and passengers of_ The Snyder _are presumably safe. I’m not going to be spaced but to be Captain’s mate to one of the most notorious bloodthirsty Biogens in Council history. So far Xan-man I’d say you’re…well probably doomed to die a painful and ugly death. Situation’s a little better than normal._  
  
Xander flipped the dryers off, put his patch back in place and moved to the bathroom door. He peered into the bedroom. There was no sign of Spike. _Hey! I finally won one today!_ Xander mentally cheered as he stepped into the bedroom and got dressed.  
  
The black pants were a bit too wide in the waist and a bit too long in the leg but they did have a drawstring. Xander drew the string tight, tied it and then rolled the pant cuffs. The shirt was long-sleeved, tan and non-descript save for the v-neckline. It too was a bit big on Xander, but the loose fit was comfortable.  
  
Xander looked around the room. He really could use a brush.   
  
“Spike, could use a brush!” Xander called. There was no answer.   
  
_Hmm, well then. Guess  that means I gotta snoop,_ Xander reasoned.  Quickly he began rummaging through the bedroom drawers. Mostly he found more clothes. _How many black pants and red shirts does a nutter need?_ Xander wondered.   
  
In the back of the bottom drawer Xander found a doll. It had a lacy white dress and a bow in its long black ringlets. _Spikey likes to play with dolls? He’s more of whack-job than I thought!_ Xander stuffed the doll back where he found it and shut the drawer.   
  
The next place to search was the sitting area. There wasn’t much to search. There was a couch, a low table, a small wardrobe and a bar. Xander looked through the wardrobe: it contained a lone long black coat. Next, Xander searched the bar and found a pack of gaspers and various bottles of alcohol.   
  
Xander ran his fingers through his hair. He really didn’t know what he was looking for but he knew he should be looking for something. He should be trying something. _What would Jesse do?_ Xander wondered.   
  
He looked at the hatchway leading out to the corridor. _How do I really know this collar isn’t just some trick? Could it really be that bad?_ Xander weighed his options. He just couldn’t sit here and wait for Spike to come back and…well Xander didn’t even want to think about what Spike could do when he came back.   
  
With more confidence than Xander felt he rushed to the hatch, turned the knob, flung the hatch open and stepped into the hall. Pain flared from the collar up Xander’s neck to his head and then danced its way down every nerve firing every neuron along the way.  
  
Xander toppled into the corridor his body convulsing and his stomach retching. Pain was all Xander knew.  
  
***  
  
Spike was sauntering through the corridors on his way back from the mess when the smell hit him; retch and bile!  
  
“Bloody hell,” Spike growled as he took off at a run down the corridor toward his cabin. He found the whelp convulsing in the corridor. Spike dropped the package he was carrying and quickly scooped the boy up.   
  
“Stupid. Stubborn. Git!” Spike continued to growl as he carried the young man into the sitting area and placed him on the couch. Spike turned Xander’s head to the side in case he continued to retch and then Spike rushed to the bathroom.   
  
Spike returned to the sitting area with a cold wet cloth and to find Xander moaning but no longer convulsing or vomiting.   
  
“Easy mate,” Spike said as he began to wipe Xander’s face with the cool cloth.   
  
“Jesse?” Xander whimpered.  
  
“Nope, just your friendly ‘fuckin soulless Biogen,’” Spike answered softly as he continued to clean Xander.  
  
“Spike!” Xander weakly exclaimed and tried to sit-up.   
  
Spike gently pushed Xander back down on the couch.   
  
“Stay,” Spike gently ordered before he went back to the small bathroom to rinse and rewet the rag.  
  
On his return, Spike found Xander surprisingly compliant with Spike’s last order. Spike gently lifted Xander’s head and shoulders before sitting down on the couch. He spread Xander over his lap and then quickly removed Xander’s patch.  
  
“No,” Xander struggled.  
  
“Shush,” Spike said and brushed Xander’s weak protest aside. “In two hundred years I think I’ve seen worse ‘n this.”  
  
Then Spike draped the cool wet cloth over Xander’s eyes before beginning to gently and alternately massage Xander’s temples and neck.  
  
“Oh,” Xander sighed as Spikes long and strong fingers eased the bunched muscles and tendons.  
  
“Better?” smiled Spike.  
  
“Yeah.”  
  
“Thought I told you you weren’t authorized for anywhere but here in the cabin.”  
  
“Didn’t believe you.”  
  
It was Spike’s turn to sigh, “Xander, wouldn’t lie to you about something like that.”  
  
“But you would lie to me?” Xander asked catching Spike’s use of words.  
  
“”M a Biogen and you’re Council.”  
  
The room lapsed into silence as both men internally acknowledged their enemy status but accepted the gentle momentary truce. Long moments passed as Spike ministered to Xander and Xander let him.   
  
“How’d you know what to do?” Xander asked as his nature caught up with him.  
  
“Told ya, collar’s based on the same chip technology the Council used on us Biogens,” Spike replied while still massaging Xander’s neck. “’Cept I think it hits you _pure_ humans harder. You not havin the benefit of Biogen nanonites to aid in recovery.”  
  
“You once had this,” Xander paused trying to keep the disbelief out of his voice, “this chip?”  
  
“Not sumthin I like to remember,” Spike said.  
  
“This happened to you?”  
  
“Said it’s not sumthin I like to think about,” Spike said as he shifted Xander and got up from the couch.   
  
“I’ve never heard of any ‘chips’ used by the Council,” Xander said as he rolled up into a seated position and removed the cloth from his eyes. He quickly looked for his patch which he found sprawled on the arm of the couch. Xander reached out and put it back in place.  
  
“Course ya haven’t,” Spike said as he moved over to the bar and poured himself a drink. “Makes a better story if Biogens suddenly went starkers and started killin’ for no reason.”  
  
“Oh right,” Xander said, “this is the song and dance where you tell me Biogens had no choice. You were just rebelling against your evil and cruel masters and ‘oops’ sorry about all the blood and gore along the way.”   
  
Spike downed his drink before turning around to look at Xander.  
  
“You really are a good Council boy aren’t you Harris?”  
  
“If you mean I don’t listen to Biogen lies? You’re right, I don’t.”  
  
“You never wonder why Wes and Faith left? You ever wonder why some _pure_ human colonies aren’t loyal to Council?”  
  
“Illegal wealth and power will always tempt some people.”  
  
Spike laughed. “Look around Harris, this look like the lap of luxury here?”  
  
“They say Angel’s got all the Biogen’s illegal wealth stashed on Hyperion and doles it out to the colonies that will support him.”  
  
“Who’s they Harris?”  
  
Xander almost replied “the Council,” before he realized it was the answer Spike was trying to prompt from him. _Damnit, Xan-man!_ Xander internally chastised, _when are you going to learn not to listen to them? They will only twist everything up until you start to believe them and then you KNOW what happens next._  
  
“I’m tired,” Xander said and stood up on shaky legs.   
  
“Right,” Spike sneered. “Shower cycle probably hasn’t reset itself but you can clean up in the sink. Better strip off the shirt and throw it in the cleaner. Should be done in the morning.”  
  
Xander nodded and headed for the bathroom. Spike watched him go. _I really should strand him or sell him,_ Spike thought but he knew he wouldn’t. Spike moved away from the bar and got the bundle from the galley out of the corridor and set it down on the table in the sitting area.   
  
_Boy can clean it up in the morning,_ Spike thought. _Start him off with his CM duties._  
  
Spike headed for the bedroom. A shirtless Xander was just coming out of the bathroom. Spike felt that stirring in his groin again. _Really bad idea,_ Spike thought.  
  
“C’mere,” Spike said as he reached under the end of the bed and withdrew a length of chain with soft cuff attached to the end.   
  
“You’ve got to be kidding,” Xander rolled his eye as he stared at the chain.   
  
“Oi! Do I sound like I’m winding-up?” Spike answered as he held out the cuff.  
  
 _Let’s get this over with,_ Xander thought; his body too tired to fight any more. Cautiously Xander moved over to Spike.   
  
“Now I don’t have to lose any sleep fetching you out of the hall,” Spike said as he bent down and secured the cuff to Xander’s ankle.  
  
“The cuff and the collar clip? The only way you can keep a CM is through restraints?” Xander retorted.  
  
Spike stood up in game face and grabbed Xander.  
  
“Had to have ‘em for when my _first_ Captain’s mate had bad spells. Council made her barmier than you!”  
  
Spike gave Xander a quick shake and then let him go. Then Spike swiftly undressed and climbed into the bed while Xander tried to process Spike’s angry words.  
  
“Lights!” Spike growled and the room was plunged into darkness.   
  
“You can either sleep on the floor at the end of the bed or you can sleep with me,” Spike barked. “But I can’t promise your Council virtue and sensibilities will be safe! After all, I’m a soulless Biogen who only knows murder and mayhem.”  
  
Xander stood for a long while in the dark at the foot of the bed listening to Spike breathe. When it sounded like Captain Criminal was asleep Xander sat down on the floor at the end of the bed and pondered his first day aboard the _DeSoto_ and what his duties as Spike’s CM would be.

**TBC**


	6. (6/43 plus Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lt. “Xander” Harris and Captain William the Bloody have both suffered and lost in the on going war between the Biogens and Council. Now, Xander finds himself a prisoner of Captain William the Bloody (aka Spike). What will be Xander’s fate?

_Xander stood for a long while in the dark at the foot of the bed listening to Spike breathe. When it sounded like Captain Criminal was asleep Xander sat down on the floor at the end of the bed and pondered his first day aboard the_ DeSoto _and what his duties as Spike’s CM would be.  
_

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Consciousness crept back slowly for Xander.  The area around his left eye was tender from where he’d slept with his patch on all night. Xander blinked his right eye and try to get his bearings. Apparently, some time during the night he’d stretched out on the floor and fallen asleep. Just as apparent was that at some point Spike had gotten up and covered Xander with a blanket.   
  
Xander sat up, threw the blanket off, removed his patch and rubbed his face.   
  
“Spike?” Xander called as he laid his patch on the bed.  
  
There was no answer. Xander stood up. Apparently Spike must have also unlocked the cuff because Xander’s leg was free.   
  
“Spike?” Xander called again as he looked in the bathroom for the Biogen before looking in the sitting area. Spike wasn’t in either of the other rooms.  
  
Xander did notice a bundle on the small table. He moved forward and opened the bundle. There was some processed fruit packets and some crackers inside. There also appeared to be a metal carafe.   
  
Xander opened the carafe and sniffed. It smelled like a proto-fizz. Xander tipped the carafe and took a drink. _It’s a bit flat now,_ he thought, _but it’s a proto-fizz._   
  
It didn’t take long for the protein laced drink to hit Xander’s system and remind him he was hungry and a little more than thirsty. _Well at least Captain Peroxide doesn’t mean to starve me,_ Xander thought as he sat down and made a meal of the fruit packets, crackers and the protein drink which would not only give him the nutrients he needed but re-hydrate him as well.  
  
The meal was short but satisfying. Xander looked around for a reclamation bin to throw away the empty packets. It didn’t take him long to find it and then to finish tidying up the sitting area. _I’m not doing this for Spike_ , Xander reasoned. _Apparently this is the only place I get to go and I don’t want it to be any more of the unpleasant then it has to be._  
  
Xander used that same internal reasoning as he folded up the blanket and tidied up the bedroom. As Xander was rinsing the carafe out in the bathroom he heard a knock on the hatch in the sitting area. _Knocking’s far to civilized for Spike_ , Xander thought as he grabbed his shirt from the cleaner and donned it before heading back to the sitting area.  
  
There was another knock before could open the hatch. Wes and the smell of disinfectant were on the other side of the hatch. Xander flushed realizing somebody else must have cleaned up the mess he’d made the night before.   
  
“Xander?” Wes said.  
  
Xander looked up to meet Wes’s gaze. Wes was good at schooling his features but not good enough to hide the flinch when he saw Xander’s misshapen eye.  
  
“Ah, sorry,” Xander paled, muttered and turned his head so his bad eye was less visible. “Forgot to grab my patch.”  
  
“Not all, Xander,” Wesley hurriedly apologized, “I shouldn’t have…I mean…well its….”  
  
“Wesley,” Xander interrupted, “what do you want?”  
  
“Oh, yes! Spike has asked me to bring you to the mess.”  
  
“I’m not authorized to leave the cabin.”  
  
“Spike had Fred extend your authorization to include the cabin, a route to the mess and the mess itself.”  
  
“You’ll forgive me Wes if I don’t find myself ready to risk a massive brain meltdown on your word alone?” Xander pierced Wesley with his one good eye.  
  
“Yes, well I suppose that does make sense from your point of view,” Wes conceded. “Though, however you feel about me or what I have done, it does not make me fool enough to invite you out of Spike’s cabin and into harm thus earning Spike’s distinct disapproval.”  
  
“Afraid of your killer Captain, Wes?” Xander sneered.  
  
“No, just loyal.”  
  
Xander laughed. “May you show him the same loyalty you showed the Council.”  
  
“And may the Council become half as worth of loyalty as Spike,” Wes countered. “Now, shall we trade barbs and witticisms all day or will you accompany me to the mess?”  
  
 _Do I really have a choice?_ Xander thought.   
  
“Give me a moment,” Xander said as he retreated from the doorway. Quickly Xander trotted back to the bedroom and grabbed his eye patch. Swiftly he brushed through his hair once again with his fingers before putting the irritating patch back into place. Then Xander picked up the metal carafe from the bathroom.  
  
“Accompany me on,” Xander said as he came back to the hatch where Wesley waited. Xander was more than a little nervous to step into the corridor; painful memories from the night before twisted his gut. However, Xander was determined not to show fear in front of Wesley and so quickly he stepped through the hatchway and joined Wes on the other side. Xander secured the door and the men move down the corridor.   
  
“Remember this route, Xander,” Wes said as he led Xander though the ship. “This is the only route right now for which you are authorized to travel from Spike’s cabin to the mess.”  
  
“So there’s more than one route to take?” Xander asked.  
  
“Remember this route, Xander,” Wesley simply answered.  
  
It didn’t the two men long to reach the mess. Once again it seemed the rest of the crew was there.  
  
“So the sleeping prince joins us,” muttered Gunn.  
  
“Gunn, with you as an inspiration, how could I fail to rise and shine?” replied Xander.  
  
Gunn moved toward Xander and stopped when Spike raised his hand.   
  
“Leave him, Charlie. Whelp did a round with the collar last night.”  
  
“Xander!” Fred exclaimed as she rushed over to him. “Are you ok? The collar’s neural feedback can be very hard on us plain old ordinary humans.”  
  
Fred was reaching to examine Xander’s good eye. Xander wasn’t sure whether struggling would be considered trying to hurt her so he just let her examine him. The look-over was swift as Fred looked up and down in his good eye and then felt the muscles in his neck.  
  
“Any residual pain?” Fred asked.  
  
“Only to my pride,” Xander smiled.   
  
“Good,” Fred smiled in return. “Just don’t make it a habit to trigger the response, please. I haven’t really established what the long term effect might be to prolonged or frequent firings on _pure_ humans.”  
  
“Glad to see Xan-man can be of use to science,” Xander sneered at Spike, “as a guinea pig.”  
  
“Oh, but it’s not like that...,” Fred quickly tried to explain.  
  
“Oi give it a rest Harris. As long as you behave you should be fine,” Spike said as he pointed at an empty chair across the table from him indicating Xander should sit.   
  
“This round two of all about Xander?” the prisoner asked as he sat down and put the carafe he’d been carrying down on the table.   
  
“Nope,” Faith replied. “This is a crew meeting.”  
  
“And I’m here why?”  
  
“You’re CM, pet,” Spike replied. “You have a stake in _some_ crew meetings.”  
  
“Right,” said Xander.  
  
“Everyone on this ship pulls their weight,” Faith said, “and you’re no exception.”  
  
“I think you over looking the detail where I don’t exactly want to be part of your little club,” said Xander.  
  
“Could make it so the only place you’re authorized to be is the hatch,” Spike purred.   
  
Xander glared at Spike as he remembered the small closet like room he’d been shoved into shortly after arriving on the _DeSoto._  
  
“So,” Faith continued, “we’ve been discussing what you can do on the ship aside from taking care of Spike.”  
  
“Excuse me?” asked a startled Xander.  
  
“That’s what a CM does, pet. Takes care of the Captain,” Spike smiled. _Sleep did the boy good,_ Spike observed. _His heart rate’s good and so’s his color._  
  
“You’re in charge of Spike’s _personal_ needs,” Gunn leered. “whatever it takes to keep the Captain happy, Council boy, that’s your job. And I hear he can be _real_ demanding.”  
  
“Charles,” admonished Fred.  
  
“Too much for you, eh Gunn?” Xander jeered back at the black man.  
  
Spike suppressed a smile. _That’s it Harris, give as good as ya get._  
  
“Gentlemen,” Wesley interrupted, “really, Xander, CM doesn’t have to be more than the Captain’s personal valet. You keep his quarters tidy, bring him meals if necessary, and run errands.”  
  
 _Right, Wes, cuz personal valets always sleep chained to the end of their boss’s bed,_ Xander silently argued.  
  
“Same gig you had, Xander,” Faith said, “just a different boss.”  
  
 _The bright side is that means eventually they’ll have to give me authorization to more of the ship and that’s gotta be a plus, some how,_ Xander mused.  
  
“So other than Spike’s ‘go fer’ what do you want me to do?” Xander asked.  
  
“KP,” Spike said.  
  
“What?”  
  
“You’ll be in charge of the mess,” Spike continued.  
  
“You want me to cook?”   
  
“Well there’s really not much to it,” Fred said. “Most of the food is already processed and just needs to be re-hydrated or heated.”  
  
“You just need to be sure it’s ready to go for the morning, lunch and dinner mess chimes,” Faith said, “and clean up afterwards.”  
  
 “I’m a lieutenant in the Council Initiative, not a mess cook,” Xander growled.  
  
“No, pet, you’re my CM and a member of this crew,” Spike growled back.  
  
“I’m a prisoner of war,” Xander glared at Spike.  
  
“Biogens don’t take prisoners,” Spike said, “Isn’t that what the Council says?”  
  
“Looks like I’m an exception.”  
  
“Harris,” Spike said as he stood up and leaned over the table into Xander’s personal space, “do you _really_ want to be treated like a prisoner of war? Ask yourself, how does the Council treat its prisoners?”  
  
Xander swallowed and stared back at Spike. He really couldn’t answer the question about how the Council treated its prisoners. Buffy, as Regent prime, rarely took any and Willow didn’t discuss the few times she’d been called in to help with an interrogation. Jesse hadn’t talked much about it either just saying it was work more suited to bastards like Riley.   
  
“So,” Xander finally said, “when’s the next chime?”  
  
Spike sat back down and smiled. _There’s hope for you, Harris,_ he thought and for some reason that thought caused quite a stir in Spike.  
  
***  
Fred worked with Xander for most of the day acquainting him with the galley and the mess as well as fitting him with a ship’s communicator that would not only let him communicate with the others but would act as a chronometer.  
  
By the time the dinner time chime had pinged, Xander had food and the mess ready for the rest of the crew. Fred had been right, it wasn’t that hard to prepare anything but Xander was surprised at how well his efforts were regarded.  
  
Most everyone took a moment to compliment him on the food preparations.   
  
“Nice to have a meal ready on time for a change,“ Faith had said. Xander hadn’t acknowledged her comment but he couldn’t help feel a little a something at the praise. It had been a long time since he’d been praised by anyone for anything; not since Jesse had died.  
  
Xander had also been surprised to see Spike wolf down a substantial portion of the meal.  
  
“Wot?” Spike had asked when he caught Xander staring at him. “You really think Biogens drink blood?”  
  
Xander had flushed and sputtered as the rest of the crew laughed.  
  
“Biogens do require a more than normal amount of nutrients and a larger quantity of protein,” Fred had explained, “but they don’t really live on blood.”  
  
“Though probably could if we had too,” Spike had said.  
  
“I’m sure those nanonites would make use of what ever could pass through your digestive system,” Fred had said, “but eventually without the proper combination of nutrients you would develop problems.”  
  
“And that’s why you are my favorite bird, Fred,” Spike had smiled. “I know you’ll keep me fit as a butcher’s dog.”  
  
Fred had blushed.  
  
“Yo, Xander” Gunn had chimed in, “don’t forget to leave a snack out for the late shift.”  
  
“Please do,” Faith had said. “Never fails, the nights Gunn has no snack is the nights we have red alerts and mysterious bogies.”  
  
The crew had laughed some more at that but Xander made sure he left some sort of snack out for Gunn; though it was all processed vegetables. _No one said I had to leave a tasty snack,_ Xander had thought.  
  
After dinner, Xander had cleaned the galley and the mess. He also followed Fred’s suggestion and did some prep work for the “morning” chime. Surprisingly tired, Xander had made his way through the corridors vaguely wondering what fun and games waited for him back in Spike’s cabin.  
  
Xander meandered the corridors on the route leading back to the cabin. He really wasn’t in a hurry but he also had no place else to go. Finally, he reached the hatch door to Spike’s cabin. _Do I knock or just go right in?_ Xander wondered.  
  
“Oi, get in here, git,” Spike’s voice could be heard through the door. _Damn Biogen senses,_ Xander thought as he opened the door and went inside.   
  
Spike was seated at the couch drinking out of a glass from the bar. He was reviewing something on his personal display unit.   
  
“Think the shower cycle’s reset by now,” Spike said without looking at Xander.   
  
Xander nodded and headed back to the bedroom. He was in a quandary. Xander really wanted the shower after the work he’d done and he really needed to put his clothes in the cleaner; but then he had nothing else to wear. _No way do I want to give that deviant another show,_ Xander thought.   
  
Xander sighed and stripped. He’d think of something; the appeal of a shower was just too strong.   
  
Once again Xander was disappointed with the length of the shower cycle; but not the effects. He felt a little more alert and a lot more capable of dealing with Spike. Xander stepped back into the bedroom and looked at his clothes. Xander really didn’t relish the thought of putting on the soiled garments after just getting clean and he really wanted to put them in the cleaners so they’d be ready for the morning. _But what do I wear in the mean time?_ Xander questioned.   
  
Xander’s gaze settled on the folded blanket he’d placed at the end of the bed that morning. _Better than nothing,_ Xander thought. Quickly Xander fashioned the blanket into a toga around him and then deposited his clothes in the cleaner unit. 

“Xander,” Spike called.

  
“Now what?” Xander muttered.  
  
  
“You wanna…” Spike started before bursting into laughter. He was standing in the hatchway between the sitting area and the bedroom. _What was the whelp doing in that getup?_ Spike mused.  
  
“Do I wanna what?” Xander said through gritted teeth as he flushed.  
  
“Well I was going to ask if you wanted a drink?” Spike finally said.  
  
“I’m fine,” Xander said stiffly.  
  
“Look, whelp, I’m sorry but the getup is rather amusing.”  
  
“Really, Captain Yahoo? Guess you wanted me to prance around nude some more? Make you feel real big and bad like a proper Biogen? Make the human feel small and insignificant? I know the psych drill,” Xander snarled.  
  
Spike couldn’t deny that he wanted to see the boy nude again. _But what was the boy talking about? I gave him some kit…_ and then Spike understood.   
  
“Pet, I’m sorry…”  
  
“Don’t call me that!” Xander interrupted.  
  
“Xan, look I forgot you only had the one set of garm to wear. I wasn’t tryin ta make it so you had to prance around in your birthday suit.”  
  
Xander looked at Spike. It didn’t look like Spike was lying. _Yeah, cuz I’m so good at knowing when Biogens are lying,_ Xander derided himself, _aren’t I Jesse?_  
  
“C’mon Xan. Was really just gonna offer ya a top off, yeah?” Spike said with his best smile.  
  
“Do I really have a choice?” Xander said disdainfully.  
  
“Yes,” Spike said honestly.   
  
The two stared at each other for a moment and then Xander nodded. _Too wound up to sleep now,_ he reasoned. Xander moved forward and Spike turned and headed back into the sitting area.   
  
“Cop a squat,” Spike said as he headed to the bar.   
  
Xander sat on the couch. He noticed the personal display unit on the small table. Quickly Xander cast a glance at Spike.  
  
“What’s yer poison?” Spike said. “Whiskey or whiskey?”  
  
“Eh, whiskey,” Xander said as he leaned over and tried to read what was on the unit.  
  
“Oxnard,” Spike said as he poured two drinks.  
  
“What?” Xander said.  
  
“Onxard-7, that’s where were headed,” Spike answered as he turned around and brought the drinks back to the couch and offered one to Xander. “That’s what’s on the unit.”  
  
Xander flushed. _Bet Jesse wouldn’t have gotten caught,_ Xander said.  
  
“No sense you not knowing and I can’t blame you for snooping. Is wot I woulda done.”  
  
“No sense me knowing? Cuz I’m part of the crew?” Xander said and then took a hesitant sniff at the drink. _I’m not taking the bastard’s last comment as a compliment!_ Xander silently swore.  
  
Spike smiled. “Yeah, and we'll be there in a couple of days. You’ll help us unload some of the meds and other gear we’re carrying.”  
  
“You expect me to help you unload stolen Council cargo on a rebelling colony?” Xander said as Spike took a swallow of his drink.  
  
“Yep, figure it’ll do ya some good.”  
  
“Good? Make me a criminal just like you?” Xander took a hesitant swallow and then started to cough.  
  
Spike laughed and resisted the urge to smack the boy on the back.   
  
“Don’t drink much do ya?”  
  
Xander coughed some more and put the drink back down on the table.  
  
“Not so much,” Xander said. _Drank a lot when Jesse died. Drank a lot to sleep without nightmares. Drank a lot when they reassigned me away from Buffy and Willow to be a “diplomatic liaison” under Riley’s command,_ Xander internally listed. _Just never drank socially. Never drank without the sole purpose of oblivion._  
  
Spike watched the boy. He didn’t need enhanced senses to see the play of emotions parading across Xander’s face. Spike leaned back on the couch and studied Harris. One firm shoulder and arm were exposed and Spike couldn’t help but remember how the rest of the whelp had looked all nude and flushed the night before.  
  
 _Wonder who he lays down for?_ Spike thought. Then Spike remembered the boy had first called him Jesse when he was coming round after the collar. _Had he spread for this Jesse?_  
  
“You going ta finish that?” Spike asked as he pointed to Xander’s drink.   
  
“Yeah,” Xander said before he slammed the rest of the drink back in one swallow.  
  
Spike arched an eyebrow in surprise.  
  
“Don’t worry,” Xander said a little hoarsely as the alcohol burned its way down his throat. “I won’t ask for seconds. A little goes a long way with me.”  
  
“I’ll be sure to note that,” Spike said failing to keep the seduction out of his voice.  
 _  
_Xander’s eye widened at the tone but he refused to look at Spike. _Ok, prisoner of war gig is sounding better._  
  
Spike noted Xander’s elevated hear rate and lack of an interested response. _Change of tactics,_ Spike thought.  
  
“Not trying to make ya a criminal,” Spike said changing tactics as well as topics.  
  
“What?” Xander said taken by surprise.  
  
“Not trying to make ya a criminal,” Spike repeated and took another sip.  
  
“Then what’s the point of me helping? Humiliation?”   
  
“Tell ya what, pet,” Spike said sending a piercing gaze Xander’s direction. “Let’s play a game of questions. For every question I answer, you answer one.”  
  
Xander was suddenly back on the defensive.  
  
“I’m not betraying the Council, Spike.”  
  
“I’m not betraying Angel or the Biogens.”  
  
“Then what’s the point?” Xander asked.  
  
Spike smiled and arched an eyebrow.  
  
 _Once again with the strings and playin’ the Xan-man!_   Xander chided himself. Xander sighed and nodded to Spike.

“Better know your adversary. You’re being passive now cuz of the collar and you really haven’t any place to go. But doesn’t mean you aren’t still plotting and planning so the more I get to know you; the better I can anticipate what you might do,” Spike almost believed his own line. “And you gain the same benefit from knowing me and mine.”  
  
 _Know your enemy,_ Xander remembered Jesse saying something like that to him.  
  
“So,” Spike paused a moment to think of his opening gambit, “do you wear that patch all the time?”  
  
“No,” Xander said. Once again he was startled by Spike’s change of topics.   
  
“Pet, play fair,” Spike said when it was obvious Xander wasn’t going to say anything else. “One word answers really aren’t in the spirit of the game.”  
  
Xander wanted to argue but his sense of fair play agreed with Spike. _You started this,_ Xander reminded himself. He ignored the part that said Spike had tricked him into this.  
  
“I don’t typically sleep in it or shower with it. It irritates me if I wear it too long,” Xander paused to think of his question. “What’s the point of me helping, Spike?”  
  
Spike hid his smile as he answered,”Seems to me you are awfully good at parroting the Council line. Thought you my like a chance to see a rebel colony for yourself. Draw your own conclusions about why _pure_ humans might join with Biogens.”  
  
“As if you are going to let me see anything or talk to anyone you don’t want me to see,” Xander argued.  
  
“Pet, I guarantee, you’ll see exactly who and what’s there,” Spike smiled and then continued, “so you’ve been wearing it awhile now and I know you slept in it. You’ve gotta need a break. Why don’t you take it off?”  
  
Xander blanched in shock. _What is he some kind of mental monstrosity that needs to see the maimed?_ Xander silently screamed.  
  
Spike noted the boy’s elevated heart rate but remained still and quiet. However, he did arch his eyebrow again.  
  
“I’m not in the habit of showing my…injury to other people,” Xander forced out.  
  
“I’ve already seen it, Xander,” Spike said quietly.  
  
“And what, you feel the sudden need to see it again?” Xander shouted as he stood up and looked down at Spike. “You haven’t had enough violence lately so you need to get off on seeing the one-eyed freak to get off?”  
  
 _Shit! Shit!_ Xander silently panicked as he realized he’d just asked Spike two questions!  
  
“One,” Spike began to answer, “I don’t feel the sudden need to see anything again. I just thought you might be more comfortable with it off. Two, you aren’t a ‘one-eyed freak’ and you’d have to remove more than your patch to get me off.”  
  
Xander gaped at Spike and backed away from the couch. _He really didn’t just imply…_ Xander didn’t finish the question.  
  
“Having said that,” Spike continued, “I’ll forgo my two questions if you do take the bloody patch off.”  
  
Spike could tell the boy was about to panic before he started shaking and the perspiration stood out on his forehead.   
  
“No,” Xander said. _I can’t! Please don’t make me,_ he silently pleaded. _Don’t make me show how…how…_  
  
“Xander, it’s ok,” Spike said softly. “If you’re more comfortable with it on, I won’t make you take it off.”  
  
Xander couldn’t help the sudden rush of gratitude he felt toward Spike. Spike noted the boy began to calm down.   
  
“Right then,” Spike said, “who’s Jesse?”  
  
 _Bollocks!_ Spike thought as he could see the return of Xander’s panic with a vengeance. Spike knew he’d lost any ground he’d just made.  
  
“He was my best friend,” Xander spit out in spite of his rampant emotions, “one time commanding officer, and he’s dead because I trusted…believed a fuckin Biogen! I’m so stupid. You’d think after having my eye gouged out and my friend torn apart I would learn not to talk to, let alone listen to, _any_ of you butchers!”  
  
Xander paused to catch his breath. _When would he learn! This game was all about Spike drilling him! There was no benefit in this for Xander!  
_  
“But no. Xan-man here? Was always the academically challenged one with run of the mouth disease and you know what? We’re done here Spike! I’m going to bed unless you want to lock me up in the hatch, space me or sell me. Either way I don’t give a shit!”  
  
Xander turned and fled into the bedroom and curled up on the floor at the foot of bed. Spike remained in the sitting room for a long while listening to the boys muffled sobs until they gave way to the heavy breathing of healing sleep.  
  
Spike quietly made his way into the bedroom. Xander was curled up on the floor with the blanket all askew around him. Gently, Spike tucked it around the boy. Then he noted that once again Xander had fallen asleep with the eye patch in place. _Oh pet,_ Spike sighed as he very carefully removed the eye patch and then set it on the dresser.  
  
“Lights,” Spike said very softly and the room fell dark. Silently Spike undressed and got into bed. That night he dreamt of one-eyed beauties, soft words and an old love.

**TBC**


	7. (7/43 plus Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lt. “Xander” Harris and Captain William the Bloody have both suffered and lost in the on going war between the Biogens and Council. Now, Xander finds himself a prisoner of Captain William the Bloody (aka Spike). What will be Xander’s fate?

_Spike quietly made his way into the bedroom. Xander was curled up on the floor with the blanket all askew around him. Gently, Spike tucked it around the boy. Then he noted that once again Xander had fallen asleep with the eye patch in place._ Oh pet _, Spike sighed as he very carefully removed the eye patch and then set it on the dresser.  
   
 “Lights,” Spike said very softly and the room fell dark. Silently Spike undressed and got into bed. That night he dreamt of one-eyed beauties, soft words and an old love._

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************

  
The following morning was awkward and frustrating for Spike. Harris wouldn’t look at him or speak to him. If Spike called Xander’s name, he’d stop as if he was waiting for instructions or an order but he wouldn’t say a word. Even’s Spike best game face and snarl didn’t cause Xander to so much as blink.   
  
_The boy’s locked himself away deep,_ Spike silently growled, _and I got no one else to blame but myself._  
  
The only hint that the mouthy and expressive Xander Spike was fascinated by was in the boy was when Xander spotted his patch on the dresser. Xander raised a hand to his left eye and began to turn as if he was going to look at Spike, but then stopped. Xander just picked the patch up, put it on and continued getting ready to head down to the mess.   
  
Xander even dressed in front of Spike without so much as an elevated heart rate or a slight pink to his skin. Spike couldn’t stop himself from looking at the fleshy sculpture that was Xander, but he didn’t feel that stir in his groin he had gotten used to when studying the boy. _Not turned on by some bloody robot,_ Spike again silently growled as he lay in bed fuming.  
  
Eventually Xander left, heading down to start work in the galley. Spike got up and headed to the bathroom to shower. While stepping into the small stall Spike began to think a shower wouldn’t be enough to get rid of the angry tension. _I’ll just have a quick toss off,_ he thought _and that’ll put me back to sorts._  
  
Spike activated the shower cycle and let the tepid water wet him all over. Then he squirted a handful of the liquid soap into his palm and began to work it first though his drenched golden curls, down his neck, over and under his arms, and then smoothly over the rippled plane of stomach and abdomen. Before heading down to soap his heavy tackle, Spike headed back up his chest and spent some time soaping his little nubs. Spike tried to call up memories of Angel or a little tart he’d met on the Stevenson colony; but the memories wouldn’t come.   
  
All Spike could recall was how nummy Xander had looked all bound and gagged on his bed. At the memory, Spike’s nips got harder and his willie started to rise to the occasion.  
  
Once Spike hard little buds were thoroughly soaped, abused and stimulated he snaked his hands down and cupped his sac with one hand and began to pull and stroke his tadger with the other. He let the memories of the boy play out and the heat stir and rise within him.  
  
“Yeah,” Spike groaned as he got harder. He remembered Xander all flushed, embarrassed and gloriously nude. His wick was hard and leaking now. Spike gently rolled his round fellas and continued to stroke and pull. He was so close!

 _“He was my best friend…one time commanding officer, and he’s dead because I trusted…believed a fuckin’ Biogen! I’m so stupid. You’d think after having my eye gouged out and my friend torn apart I would learn not to talk to, let alone listen to, any of you butchers!”_  
  
Xander’s angry and pain filled words slammed through Spike’s mind and he felt his need slip away and his lad wilt.  
  
“Bloody Hell!” Spike shouted in frustration as he lost both his erection and the water.  
  
***  
Xander’s behavior wasn’t unnoticed by the rest of the crew either. Xander was just as silent and unresponsive to them as he had been to Spike. Even Gunn’s threats and complaints over his veggie snack didn’t prompt a response from the taciturn man.  
  
Eventually a frustrated, and a still half soapy, Spike ended the crew’s discussion and attempts to engage Xander. “If the boy wants to be a prat and sulk, let him sulk,” Spike had said.  
  
However, when Xander’s attitude hadn’t changed after the lunch chime, Spike decided it was time to do something drastic.  
  
“Gotta moment, luv?” Spike asked as he poked his head into Faith’s cabin.  
  
“Captain?” Faith smiled as she gestured Spike into her room. Though the first mate’s cabin was roomier than the standard cabins it wasn’t as big as the captain’s and was comprised of just the one room which was both a sleeping and sitting area. “What brings you slummin’?”  
  
“Just been a while since we had a gab,” Spike said as he pulled out a flask and tossed it to his first mate and sat down next to her on her bed. “Thought with all the changes we might sit a spell.”  
  
“Changes being a gob-stopped Xander?” Faith asked as she opened the flask and took a swig.  
  
“See, that’s why you’re my first mate, luv,” Spike said as he took the flask back from Faith after she finished her swig. “You always know how to correctly read the sitch.”  
  
“So what happened?” Faith asked as Spike took his own swig.  
  
“Played a game of questions with him.”  
  
“Were those, ‘what’s you favorite color’ type questions or more like ‘give me your Council access codes’ type questions?”  
  
Spike took another swig. “’Who’s Jesse’ type a question.”  
  
“Oh,” Faith said as she took the flask away from Spike and took a long swig.  
  
“Boy got real upset. Said some harsh and uglies and has been clammed up ever since.”  
  
“What’d he say?” Faith asked.  
  
“Ya sure ya wanna hear? Sounded like this Jesse and you had had a run?” Spike asked and looked at Faith.  
  
Faith looked down for a moment. She didn’t show her sadness and vulnerability to any one; except maybe Wesley.   
  
“We did,” she finally said. “Jes was a good guy. Fun. A real white knight, like Xander.”  
  
“Council doesn’t have any of those,” snarled Spike.  
  
“They did in Jes and Xan,” Faith quietly insisted but didn’t elaborate.  
  
“So you and this Jes?” Spike prompted. Faith took another swig.  
  
“We had a run. Short run. Very short and it ended when Wes and I bailed,” Faith answered.  
  
“Xander said you betrayed Jesse.”  
  
“I did,” Faith said and she flinched. “I used his access codes to clear the ship Wes and I used to run. Couldn’t use our own. An unscheduled flight of a Watcher and Regent; beta Regent would have caused too many questions. But Jesse? Jesse was always known for making unscheduled flights. Got away with it too.”  
  
“And you got the codes…?”  
  
“Sweet sweet pillow talk,” Faith said as she sinuously moved her body and then choked down another swig.  
  
“Why didn’t…”  
  
“Why didn’t we ask Jesse to come with?” Faith interrupted and then stared at Spike. “Cuz he wouldn’t have believed us. He would have thought it was just me being jealous of B again. Council likes to play up rivalries between the Regents. Keeps them on their toes and too busy thinking of enemies within and without to focus on the truth."   
  
Faith paused and tried to remember what other lies she’d told her self but could only come up with a bit of hard truth that she couldn’t quite give voice to,  “And…what if…what if…”  
  
“What if he’d said ‘no’?”  
  
“Yeah,” Faith took another swig. “Easier to have the fantasy he’d have said yes and came with then have the reality of …”  
  
“Never knew you to be afraid of anything, Faith,” Spike said quietly.  
  
“Hey Spike, I’m all kinds of afraid, just not of anything that will leave scars where it shows,” Faith replied. “So, tell me what Xander said.”  
  
Spike took back the flask and found only one swallow left. He took it.   
  
“Basically boy said it was his fault Jesse died. Said he’d listened too…believed…trusted a Biogen and for that he got his eye ‘gouged out’ and Jesse was ‘torn a part.’”  
  
Faith gasped and bit her lip. _Jesse! Xander!_ She thought.  
  
“Did he say when, where…who this bastard was?” Faith finally said when she could make her voice as stone cold as her anger.  
  
‘Nope. Just spouted off that he knew better than to listen to Biogens, any Biogens and has been a noisy crypt ever since.”  
  
Faith nodded. “And now you want to know more about Jesse?”  
  
“Yeah.”  
  
It was Faith’s turn to study Spike.  
  
“Why?”  
  
“Why wot, luv?”  
  
“Why do you need to know about Jesse? Why are you playin’ Xander?”  
  
“I’m not,” Spike said trying to back pedal. _When had this turned from me pumping her to her pumping me?_  
  
“Don’t Spike. I _know_ you. I’ve watched you watch Xan. I’ve seen the way you study him and I also know in the three years since I’ve been on the _DeSoto_ he’s the first prisoner you’ve ever taken. Angel may take prisoners and do the whole ‘bring ‘em to the light’ routine; not you. You play by Angel’s rules but you don’t go out of your way to make converts.”  
  
“He’s a valuable hostage,” Spike attempted to argue.  
  
“Bull! You don’t call hostages 'pet' and you certainly don’t make them your CM.”  
  
“Bollocks, Faith! Will you just answer the question?”  Spike growled.  
  
Faith studied Spike. _What would be better for Xander?_ she mused. _Give more information to Spike or let him stumble around in the dark tripping over whatever other emotional land mines the kid had._  
  
“Fine,” Faith said. “Jess, Willow and Xander all grew up together in the ‘Dale on Council Central. They were an original trio. The Council saw aptitude in Jess and Willow right away, but Xander, in their eyes was less than desired. They wanted to match Jess and Willow with a Regent ASAP. Get them working as a unit; but the bond but between the three was tight and they knew there’d be performance issues if Xander wasn’t in the mix. The kids weren’t fools either. Jess and Willow did their best to keep Xander’s grades and marks passable and in the green. He just wasn’t ‘Council’ material.”  
  
Faith stood up and moved about.  
  
“Council material,” Faith sneered, “Thank God Xander’s not Council material. Oh, he believes the party line and he’ll be the good Council boy, but like Jess, he’s got something more precious and dangerous then the Council will ever understand; Xander’s got heart and he’s loyal to a fault.”  
  
Spike watched his impassioned first mate storm around the room. He couldn’t remember a time when she’d said this much or shown this much emotion about anyone or anything.   
  
“So they were close?” Spike prompted.  
  
“Yeah,” Faith said.  
  
“How close?”  
  
“Huh?” Faith asked.  
  
“Well seems Xander was pretty attached to Je…”  
  
Faith rolled her eyes and interrupted, “And you want to know if Xander and Jess ever went mattress dancing?”  
  
Spike felt the unfamiliar heat of blush creep up his neck.  
  
“Jess was a real horn dog, but he didn’t swing that way. Willow had a big crush on Xan until she realized she didn’t like bananas as much as she liked peaches. As far as I know the only one Xander ever did the tango with was chick named Anya who only lasted as long as her special assignment.”  
  
Faith stopped and then looked at Spike. _What was this abo…_ Faith thought before she suddenly knew. Before Spike had a chance to react Faith had him thrown up against a bulk head with her forearm pressed to his throat.  
  
“Don’t. Hurt. Him,” she growled.  
  
Spike slipped into game face and did a counter maneuver which reversed their positions. _She bleedin’ attacked me!_  
  
“Says the woman who wanted to sell him to Raiders.”  
  
Faith rammed a knee into Spike’s stomach and twisted away before striking a blow along his back.  
  
“Some hurts,” she puffed, “you can get over with in time and the company of friends….”  
  
Spike rounded on his first mate and threw a kick which slammed her back into the far bulkhead.  
  
“…others,” Faith continued as she flipped forward and then delivered a serious of round house punches to Spike’s face, “leave you the walking dead.”  
  
There’s was a commotion at the hatchway to Faith’s room and the sound of a blaster rifle being charged.   
  
“What is going on here?” Wes’s voice bellowed.   
  
Both Faith and Spike stopped in their attacks and stared at each other. They were out of breath, bleeding and disheveled.  
  
“Bit o’sparring,” answered Spike.  
  
“Yeah, wouldn’t want to get out of shape,” Faith panted.  
  
“Right,” Gunn said as he eased off on the rifle.  
  
“Spike? Faith?” Wesley said.  
  
“Sparring, Wes. Faith and I, we’re good, yeah?”  
  
Faith stared at her Captain. _Don’t hurt him,_ she silently pleaded then nodded.   
  
“Yeah, we’re good.”   
  
“Well then, shows over,” Spike said as he looked for the forgotten flask and slipped back into his human face. “Let’s get back to work. Gunn, need a word with you and Fred.”  
  
***  
Xander hadn’t thought it possible, but he ended up more exhausted his second day of taking care of the galley then the first. This time he’d put in a full day running the galley as well as tidying Spike’s cabin. _At least I found where Captain Peroxide keeps his brush,_ Xander silently mused.  
  
What really wore Xander out, though, was the mask he’d worn all day. It wasn’t in Xander’s nature to be still and quiet. _Oh if my counselors and instructors could have seen me today,_ Xander pined, _might of improved a few of my aptitude scores._  
  
Still, Xander had managed to be unresponsive to everyone; even Gunn. Faith had seemed to try and be extra engaging at dinner, but it had been easy to ignore her. All Xander had to do was think about the only night he’d ever heard Jess cry and the disciplinary mark that permanently scarred Jesse’s record.

 _If it had been anybody else,_ Xander thought, _they would have at least demoted them. Jesse had just received a discipline session with the Council itself; something he’d refused to talk about to Xander and a mark on his record._  
  
It had been hard to ignore Fred. She looked genuinely hurt and confused by Xander’s behavior. She’d even spent some of the afternoon tinkering with various machine parts on the mess table while keeping up a constant cheery stream hoping to draw him out. Xander focused on not laughing at any of her tales or responding. He focused instead on studying the tools she was using and trying to figure out if any of them could be used to remove the collar. He thought the field diffuser had potential.   
  
Despite Faith’s attempts, dinner had gone relatively smooth. Spike hadn’t shown up. Instead he’d sent word he was going to have dinner on the bridge. Xander didn’t even have to take it to him, CM or not, because he didn’t have authorization to go to the bridge. Apparently taking dinner to Spike wasn’t important enough to give Xander that authorization either; so Wes took the dinner up to Spike. Xander was almost a little sorry about that; access to the bridge would put him that much closer to Hyperion coordinates or at least a way to signal the Council.  
  
Xander lingered over his evening duties in the galley as long as he could; but in the end boredom and exhaustion had him begin the trek back to the cabin. _Perhaps Captain Numbnuts is still on the bridge,_ Xander thought.   
  
Opening the hatch door to the cabin dispelled that notion. Once again Spike was sitting on the couch studying his display unit. Xander stilled his face into the now aching mask of indifference and marched into the bedroom.   
  
Xander was a little stunned. At the foot of the bed on top of the blanket he’d been using was now a small pillow, an extra set of clothes and a familiar pair of shoes.  
  
“The kit won’t be a good fit either. Had to get them off of Gunn,” Spike said quietly from behind Xander, “but should do for a second set until we can get you some proper fitting stuff on Oxnard.”  
  
Xander didn’t turn or acknowledge Spike, but he couldn’t help but feel his mask slip a little. _My shoes, those are my shoes,_ Xander silently chanted. He never thought he’d be happy to see something as simple as a pair of shoes but suddenly they were a bit of something of home and Xander just wanted to cradle them to him.   
  
As if they had a will of their own, Xander’s hand did reach and touch the shoes like they were something precious.  
  
“Fred checked him for any all kinds of tracers. They’re clean,” Spike said as if Xander were the one leery of tracers, “she hadn’t had a chance to put them through reclamation yet so I thought ya could use them. Ya know waste not, want not.”  
  
Xander looked over at the pillow.  
  
“Fred said she also thought she could come up with a spare of those. Probably sweet talked Wes out of it. Bit of nancy boy, really, when it comes to his bedding.”  
  
Xander finally turned and looked at Spike who was leaning on one shoulder in the hatchway arch between the sitting room and the bedroom. Spike was dressed casually in black pants and tight black shirt. He seemed to have that disturbing mix of presence that seemed to be both gentle and inviting while imposing and lethal.  
  
“This changes nothing,” Xander said quietly.  
  
“Pet,” Spike began. Xander flinched. “Xan, I didn’t mean to hit a sore spot last night.”  
  
Xander arched an eyebrow.  
  
“I just wanted to know about this Jesse chap,” Spike answered.  
  
“Why?”  
  
“Faith knew him. Seemed important to ya. You called for him…” Spike began his smooth litany of lies.  
  
“Why?” Xander said again through gritted teeth ignoring Spike’s answers.  
  
Spike’s eyes narrowed. _Git’s not falling for it tonight,_ he observed.  
  
“Wanted to know if you and he were lovers,” Spike finally said.  
  
Xander hissed. _Not because I didn’t want us to be,_ Xander reflexively thought.   
  
“And what possible business of yours could that be?” Xander asked.  
  
 _Let’s go all out,_ Spike thought.  
  
“Well, it’d tell me if you were in to blokes,” Spike answered.  
  
Xander laughed bitterly and pointed to the items at the end of the bed. “And those? What are those?” he asked. “Candy and flowers?”  
  
“No, those would be things ya need or could use,” Spike said stepping into the bedroom. “Believe me whelp, I don’t need ta bring things ta seduce ya.”  
  
“Oh yes you would, Spike,” Xander said. “You’d need lots of guns and lots of drugs cuz that’s the only way I’d let a THING like you get near me.”  
  
Suddenly all the gentle and invite left Spike and he was just lethal and imposing. Spike stepped into Xander’s personal space, gripped and tilted his chin down so Spike could better gaze into Xander’s blazing brown eye.  
  
Spike ignored the boy’s racing heart rate.  
  
“I’m sorry about your chap Jess and I’m sorry about your eye,” Spike said. “But _I’m_ not the one who ripped your world apart.”  
  
Xander stepped back jerking his chin from Spike’s grasp and bumping the back of his knees against the bed.   
  
“Maybe _you_ didn’t rip _my_ world apart but how many others did you rip apart?”  
  
“There’s a war going on, pet,” Spike said as closed the distance between him and Xander. “Bad things happen.”  
  
“Yes, bad things happen and they are called Biogens,” Xander spat.  
  
Spike hissed, grabbed Xander by the arms and hauled him close until they were chest to chest.   
  
“And tell me, Xander” Spike snarled up into the boy’s face, “Just what terrible hurt have you suffered on my ship, huh? What part of you have I ripped out? What torture have I used to interrogate you? What Council secrets have I pried out of your bleeding and maimed body?”  
  
“Let me go!” Xander struggled against Spike’s hold.  
  
“C’mon Xan! You owe me at least one answer from last night. Just answer any one of the above questions!” Spike said as he continued to hold the struggling young man.   
  
Xander didn’t answer. He increased his struggles, thankful they hadn’t triggered the collar. Spike laughed and swept Xander’s feet out from under him which sent him sprawling backwards on to the bed. Spike kept his hold and landed on top and straddling Xander.  
  
Xander bucked, yelled and once again tried to get away from Spike without doing anything that might trigger the collar. Xander only succeeded in clearing the bed of the clothes and shoes.   
  
“Let’s hear it, Harris,” Spike snarled into Xander’s face, “you’re the expert on Biogens. At least tell this THING what ITS doing wrong!”  
  
“Spike!” Xander finally cried as he lay subdued and helpless under the smaller but much stronger man.   
  
“Wot?” Spike said angrily as he stared down into the flushed and frightened face below him.  
  
“Please,” Xander said softly feeling on the precipice of something that he didn’t understand, feared, but to what some part of him was already beginning to respond.   
  
“You’re pleading with a thing, Harris,” Spike sneered and then swooped down and took possession of Xander’s mouth.  
  
The kiss started out as a brutal assault and Xander lay rigid underneath it. Some odd part of Xander that seemed detached from what was happening noted that it was his mouth that goaded Spike into this fit so it seemed only fair his mouth pay for it. Willow wouldn’t have agreed with that part, Xander was sure, but she wasn’t here and he couldn’t do anything to stop Spike’s lips and teeth from pressing and possessing Xander’s lips.  
  
Yet, when the kiss suddenly started to turn gentle Xander’s detached parts stopped arguing and observed. Spike’s hands which had viciously held on to his arms were now softly stroking his arms and mapping their way up towards his neck. Xander didn’t move; he just let himself fall over the edge of that precipice.  
  
Lips which had been bruising, harsh and possessive were now gentle and supplicating. Spike’s tongue began to lick and caress Xander’s lips; begging forgiveness on behalf of Spike’s entire mouth for the rude behavior before and asking for entrance.  
  
Xander found himself opening his mouth just a little and Spike’s tongue wasn’t aggressive. Tentatively it slipped its way inside and stroked more of Xander’s lips. Spike hands began to caress and massage Xander’s neck.  
  
Xander’s mouth opened a little wider and Spike’s tongue began a curious tour; familiarizing itself with all the contours and softness found in the hot cavern. Xander’s rapid breathing changed from fear to something else and he found his arms moving so his hands could wrap around Spike’s shoulder.  
  
Spike groaned into Xander’s mouth when Xander’s hands made contact with Spike’s shoulder. The groan sent of a hum which seemed to travel down Xander’s spine and to his groin.  
  
 _Oh God,_ a part of Xander that just came back online thought, _this can’t be happening._  
  
Yet it was. It so was and when Spike sucked Xander’s bottom lip into Spike’s mouth and nursed it Xander felt fire travel down his spine and he arched up into Spike. Spike chuckled softly and released Xander’s lower lip and started trailing kisses down Xander’s neck.   
  
_This is wrong. This is galaxies of wrong,_ Xander thought as he arched his neck giving Spike more access. Spike feasted with little nibbles on Xander’s Adam’s apple.  
  
The feel of Spike hard lithe body pressing down on Xander while he sucked and bit Xander’s throat once again had him arching up and a little groan of desire slipped past his open mouth. Spike tongue laved the throat that had made such a delicious noise from hollow to chin.  
  
 _I can’t,_ Xander thought. _I can’t do this…why am I doing this?_  
  
Spike’s hands once again made their way down Xander’s arms and mapped their way to the hem of his shirt while his lips explored the new territory of the wicked spot where Xander’s neck met his collar bone. Once again Xander groaned as Spike’s hands slipped under Xander’s shirt and began to dance along Xander’s too hot and wonderfully smooth stomach.  
  
 _This is a Biogen!_  Xander reminded himself as he felt those sinful hands move up and began to dance and circle Xander’s hard little nipples. _This is Spike!  
_  
“Spike!” gasped Xander.   
  
Spike nibbled and sucked on that juncture of Xander’s neck until Xander knew there’d be a mark in the morning. _He’s marking me,_ Xander thought. _He’s claiming me._  
  
Xander knew that thought should frighten him; it should disgust him. Yet Xander only gripped Spike’s shoulders harder. The fire was growing in Xander and he’d never wanted to get burnt so bad in his life.  
  
Spike’s hands abandoned Xander’s needy little nubs. Spike lifted himself up slightly and bunched Xander's shirt up underneath Xander’s arms. The wonderfully wrong hands returned to tease and taunt Xander’s nipples some more while Spike’s mouth abandoned Xander’s neck. Spike slid down Xander’s body just enough for Spike’s tongue to find new virgin territory to debauch.   
  
Xander sparked and ignited all over the instant Spike’s tongue delved into Xander’s fleshy little belly button.   
  
Xander arched again and cried,” SPIKE!”  
  
Spike laughed and began to tongue fuck the sensitive little hole while Xander grew hard and weeping. Xander tossed his head back and forth fighting for air and any bit of sanity he had left.  
  
 _This is so wrong..this is…_ Xander struggled to fight his own blazing senses… _what had Spike said? He could seduce…wouldn’t need things?_  
  
Xander panted and writhed under Spike’s continued onslaught.   
  
_This is a seduction…he’s the enemy…OH GOD!..._ Spike pinched Xanders nipples and bit at the tender flesh around Xander’s thoroughly tongue-fucked belly button. Spike was doing things to Xander and making Xander feel things he’d only ever dreamt about when he dreamed of Jesse.  
  
 _Jesse! OMIGOD! Jesse!_  
  
“Spike,” Xander cried much saner as the cold-water-thought of Jesse drenched and cooled his senses enough to want to call a halt.  
  
Spike’s sensual assault continued and he licked and tasted Xander’s exposed flesh.  
  
Xander painfully gripped Spike’s shoulders. “Spike, please!”  
  
Spike’s fingers slid down Xander’s stomach and began to snake their way to the hard and yearning flesh between Xander’s legs.  
  
“Spike! Please!” Xander cried again. “Don’t make me do this!”  
  
Spike froze. Xander felt a new tension radiate from Spike’s shoulders from where Xander had his grip. Xander released his hold on Spike and then sat up bracing himself on his elbows.  
  
Spike’s hands moved away from Xander’s sensitive flesh and planted themselves on either side of Xander on the bed. Slowly Spike looked up and met Xander’s gaze.  
  
Xander noticed two things. One, Spike had the most stunning blue eyes he’d ever seen. Two, there was an odd mix of fear and tears shimmering in those eyes.   
  
“I’m so unimaginably sorry, Xander,” Spike croaked before he stumbled off the bed. Then Spike was gone; not just from the bedroom but the cabin. The loud bang of the hatch slamming shut behind a fleeing Spike let Xander know he was unquestionably alone.  
  


TBC


	8. (8/43 plus Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lt. “Xander” Harris and Captain William the Bloody have both suffered and lost in the on going war between the Biogens and Council. Now, Xander finds himself a prisoner of Captain William the Bloody (aka Spike). What will be Xander’s fate?

_Xander noticed two things. One, Spike had the most stunning blue eyes he’d ever seen. Two, there was an odd mix of fear and tears shimmering in those eyes.  
  
“I’m so unimaginably sorry, Xander,” Spike croaked before he stumbled off the bed. Then Spike was gone; not just from the bedroom but the cabin. The loud bang of the hatch slamming shut behind a fleeing Spike let Xander know he was unquestionably alone._

**************************************************************************************************************************************************  
  
Spike stumbled down the corridors with Xander’s words ringing in his ears. Spike remembered other brown eyes and another voice pleading those words over and over. Tears were flowing down Spike’s face.  
  
 _What have I done?_ Spike wept and stumbled into the mess. _Please! Don’t make me do this!_ The words were a chorus in Spike’s head now. It wasn’t just Xander’s voice; it wasn’t just Xander’s brown eye.  
  
 _How many times had I heard that plea? How many different ways?_ Spike growled. He looked around the mess. _This is all just shite! This is just pretty wrappings on shite!_  
  
Spike morphed into his enhanced face and let the rage and fear in him go. He tore into the mess tearing it apart; making it the mess he was inside. Spike flipped over the table and threw the chairs into the bulkhead. He ripped cabinet doors off hinges and all the while he heard the cries in his head; _Please! Don’t make me do this!_  
  
“What the fuck?” exclaimed Gunn as he rushed into the mess with rifle ready.  
  
“Spike?” asked a frightened Fred from behind Gunn. Faith and Wes stood silent and watched the disaster unfold.  
  
“Get OUT!” Spike snarled as he whirled around to see his startled crew watching him. “GET OUT NOW!”  
  
“Faith…” Wes said as he turned to the former Regent.  
  
“I’m gone,” she said; and she was.  
  
“Fred,” Wes ordered the frightened girl. “Go with Faith.”  
  
“Huh?” Fred said she continued to watch Spike in full-face rage and break a chair into so much kindling.  
  
“Fred,” Wes said sharply finally getting Fred’s attention. “Go with Faith.”  
  
“Where?” Fred whispered.  
  
“Captain’s quarters.”  
  
Fred nodded and with a final glance at Spike turned and rushed after Faith. Meanwhile, Gunn and his rifle very nearly crackled with the tension on whether to fire or not fire.  
  
“Gunn,” Wesley ordered sharply, “stand down!”  
  
“Wes,” Gunn growled being very uneasy at the turn of events.  
  
“Stand down, Charles,” Wesley ordered again.  
  
“I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO GET THE BLEEDIN HELL OUT OF HERE!” Spike roared at the two men still standing in the hatchway to the mess.  
  
Gunn’s trigger finger twitched, but he didn’t fire.  
  
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Gunn asked Wes as he backed away from the hatch but didn’t lower his weapon.  
  
“This is Spike,” Wesley said.  
  
“Yeah, this _is_ Spike,” Gunn repeated.  
  
Wesley turned his gaze from Spike to look at Gunn, “He’s our captain, Charles.”  
  
Gunn finally nodded. “I won’t be far,” he said as he backed away from the hatch and moved a few steps down the corridor.  
  
Wes turned his attention back to the raging Biogen. Wesley stepped fully into the mess and shut the hatch door.  
  
“You’re disobeying a direct order,” snapped Spike.  
  
“Yes, well,” Wesley began. “I didn’t think that order was in the ship’s best interest.”  
  
Without warning Welsey found himself pressed against a bulkhead with a fully enraged Spike snarling in his face.  
  
“You’re a fool, Wesley,” Spike said as he painfully pushed his hands into Wes’s chest making it difficult for the pinned man to breathe. “And maybe you’re wrong too, eh? What if the great and wise Wesley is wrong and the Council is right? What if Biogens are just so much organic machines incapable of feeling any other emotions then what the Council had originally designed in the nanonites? Huh?”  
  
“Then,” Wesley gasped as he met Spike’s gaze, “I would have already been dead a long time ago.”  
  
Something in Wes’s words seemed to reach Spike because just as suddenly as Wes had found himself pinned to the bulkhead; he was released. A fire went out of Spike and he slid to the floor and puddled at Wesley’s feet.  
  
“I’m so sorry, Wes,” Spike sobbed quietly.  
  
Wesley slid down and joined Spike on the floor. Tentatively Wesley reached out a hand and gently touched Spike’s shoulder.  
  
“Spike, what’s wrong? Tell me what happened.” Wesley quietly asked.  
  
Spike looked up to meet Wes’s inquiring gaze. Spike’s face was simply human now and tears were openly falling from his pain filled blue eyes.  
  
“I…” Spike began and paused hearing the chorus in his head again. “Wes…how many different ways do you think it’s possible to say the same phrase?”  
  
Wes shook his head, “I don’t understand, Spike.”  
  
“You know Dru,” Spike began. “You know what she was originally designed for? What her first placement was?”  
  
Wes struggled to recall what he’d read about William the Bloody and Drusilla from his father’s hidden journals. “A nanny wasn’t she?”  
  
Spike laughed bitterly. “Yeah, a nanny. Was all she was for many years. Just a nanny. A good one too. Raisin’ all them proper Council children right as rain. Sweet she was and docile.”  
  
“I still don’t….” Wes began.  
  
“And that’s what Travers needed…wanted,” Spike continued not hearing Wesley. “He had me. Was trained good as gold. Ruthless and efficient. Knew all the proper manners. Could go in dark or be a bleedin mister fop and charm the folks until it was too late…until it was time to follow orders and kill ‘em.”  
  
“You were an assassin for Councilman Quentin Travers,” Wes nodded. Some of Spike’s record was pretty detailed in the elder Pryce’s journals.  
  
“Yeah,” Spike sniffed. “But I couldn’t get real close all the time. Not for the real dirty bird work. Not for _family_ jobs.”  
  
Wes chilled as he began to understand where Spike’s rambling was heading.  
  
“But Dru,” Spike said. “Dru see? She had a reputation and it was good, yeah? Travers had a job he wanted…needed to bring a rival Councilman in line. Hatched this plan, see?”  
  
“Dru,” Wes said simply.  
  
Spike nodded. “He bought her from the family she was serving. Said he was going ta gift her out as a reward. So he buys her and brings her in and…”  
  
Spike’s memories overwhelmed him and his words were lost for a moment.  
  
“Angelus was his enforcer…his muscle…head of his Biogens,” Spike began again. “Quentin told Angel…Angelus ta make sure she was ready.”  
  
Spike looked up at Wesley. “You know I loved her the moment I saw her? I didn’t want to. I knew Biogens weren’t supposed to feel love; but I did. She was this…dark princess and she was my world!”  
  
Spike wiped at some of the free flowing tears down his face. “I told Angelus..it wouldn’t work. She wasn’t a killer. She didn’t have the programming.”  
  
“Angelus…he just smiled that cold beautiful smile of his…said, ‘She’ll change. Haven’t you figured it out, Spike? With the chip, they can get us to do anything?’”  
  
Spike began to rock.  
  
“And Oh God Wes! He was right…he was so right! Quentin would have Angelus run her through these little scenarios all involve hurting children…and she’d fight ya know? And every time she did that chip of hers would fire and she’d fry! She’d scream and beg and then they’d run another scenario…and…”  
  
Spike suddenly stood and paced.  
  
“’Please!’ she’d say…’Please! Don’t make me do this!’” Spike continued his story as Wesley slowly got to his feet and watched his so very wounded Captain. “Sometimes she’d say it as a whimper…some times a terrible painful scream…sometimes a snarl in full game face…but the worst? The worst Wes? The worst was when she said it while laughing! That’s when I knew…knew she was breaking…breaking so bad she’d never be fixed.”  
  
Spike stopped pacing and then looked straight at Wes.  
  
“They did it though. She did her job and years later when Angelus…Angel freed us. Got the chips out of our head. Dru, she uh…well she still liked to go after the children. Said ‘Have to spare ‘em Spikey. Can’t have ‘em growin up bad and wrong.’ And when I’d try and stop her? She’d just look at me and say, ‘Please. Don’t make me do this.’”  
  
Once again it seemed as if all the fire went out of Spike and he just collapsed to the floor in a seated heap. Wesley slowly walked towards Spike as he if he were afraid he’d spook him. Then very slowly Wesley once again settled on the floor across from Spike.  
  
“So what happened tonight, Spike?” Wesley asked.  
  
“He called me a thing,” Spike said.  
  
“Xander?” Wesley asked.  
  
Spike nodded. “Called me a thing and said a thing could never touch him. I got mad and proved him wrong.”  
  
“Spike…” Wesley began to ask almost afraid to know.  
  
“I didn’t mean for it to get out of hand. He was just so…so….well Xander,” Spike gave a little laugh.  “He just…he tastes like planet side…all pure and warm and real. There’s nothing recycled or processed about him. He’s just Xander and I got lost a bit.”  
  
“What happened?” Wesley pressed.  
  
Spike looked up and met Wesley’s earnest gaze. “He said, ‘Spike! Please! Don’t make me do this!’”  
  
“And did you?” Wes asked needing to know now more than ever. _How big of a mess do we have?_ He wondered.  
  
“NO!” Spike said vehemently. “I stopped…I left.”  
  
The relief Wes felt must have shown on his face.  
  
“Still doesn’t make me any better than them,” Spike said. “Still just like Travers…like Angelus..a bloody machine that’ll do wot its…”  
  
“NO!” Wes snapped his turned to be vehement. “You are not like that. You stopped, Spike. You left Xander alone. The Council wouldn’t have. A heartless machine wouldn’t have stopped either.”  
  
Wes reached out and gently grabbed Spike’s arms.  
  
“I will not pretend that this isn’t a bloody awful mess,” Wes said as he commanded Spike’s attention. “If we could, I’d say leave Xander at Oxnard when we get there tomorrow but we can’t. Among other reasons he has seen the make-up of the crew, he could tell the Council about Fred’s collar and not to mention it just would not be safe for him. The Council would see him as compromised.”  
  
Spike nodded.  
  
“Our best course of action is to continue on to Hyperion with him.”  
  
“Let Angel clean up my mess...,” Spike said.  
  
Wes smiled as he looked around the room, “Well the one aboard the _DeSoto_ or the one with Xander?”  
  
Spike laughed at the pun, “How about both?”  
  
“I don’t think Gunn will wait that long for his next meal,” Wes dryly replied.  
  
“Right,” Spike said as he withdrew from Wes and stood up. He needed some distance while his composure rebuilt itself. Spike righted the table and to pick up the debris.  
  
“Spike,” Wes said quietly. Spike paused and looked at Wes. “You are Biogen. Biogens are really nothing more than enhanced humans. As humans, we all make mistakes; however a measure of our humanity is how we deal with those mistakes. Don’t be too hard on yourself.”  
  
Spike stood still staring at Wes and processing the words. In his heart he felt like he had made more than just “a mistake.” Yet, something about Wes’s earnestness reached him and a knot inside of Spike uncoiled.  
  
Wes stepped close and said, “Why don’t we leave clean-up until the morning. You can stay with me in my cabin tonight.”  
  
Spike smiled his familiar grin, “Always knew you wanted in my knickers, Wes.”  
  
“Of course, Spike,” Wes replied as the two began men headed for the mess hatchway. “My deep unrequited love for Fred was always just a massive cover from my unquenchable lust for _you_.”  
  
***  
  
Xander sat in the same position as he had been when Spike left. _I...,_ Xander tried to think; to process all that just had happened. It was beyond him at the moment.  
  
Awareness of cool air on his skin brought him back to himself enough to move and pull down his shirt. Moving was a mistake. Once Xander had shifted and reconnected with his body he began to shake.  
  
Xander was caught in a blender of mixed emotions and he was being puréed from the inside out. Desire, shock, sorrow, surprise, humiliation, a dash of outrage, and a healthy dose of a secret ingredient Xander couldn’t quite identify (and he wasn’t sure he wanted to) all combined to make the Xander-shake he was on top of Spike’s bed.  
  
He wasn’t sure how long he sat on the bed, but eventually Xander became aware of a loud banging on the cabin door. _Spike doesn’t knock_ , was all Xander could think.  
  
“Xander!” he heard Faith cry. “Open this door or I’m coming in!”  
  
 _Can’t let her see me on his bed!_ Xander freaked and found himself moving off the bed and towards the sitting area.  
  
“Don’t get your pa…,” Xander started to say on instinct and stopped. “I’m coming, Faith.”  
  
Xander reached the door and opened it to find a stressed Faith and an anxious Fred arriving out of breath.  
  
“Are you all right?” Faith barked.  
  
“Yeah,” Xander nodded and a little more than confused. _What was going on?_ He wondered. “I’m fine. What’s with the rescue routine?”  
  
“Spike…,” panted Fred.  
  
Xander blanched. _Omigod they know!_ He panicked.  
  
“Spike what?” snapped Xander.  
  
Faith narrowed her eyes and examined Xander. He had a hell of a love mark peeping out underneath the v-line of his shirt but other than that he didn’t seemed to be hurt.  
  
“He’s doing a massive redecoratin’ scene down in the mess,” Faith said simply.  
  
“Oh,” Xander replied unsure of what to say or why Spike would be tearing apart the galley. _Can’t tear me apart so trash where they got me working?_ He wondered. _And why couldn’t he tear me apart he’s a Biogen..a killer..and why did he stop when I asked..that was almost…human…and why had he been afraid and why had I….  
_  
“Do you know what’s goin’ on?” Fred asked interrupting Xander’s babbling thoughts.  
  
Once again Xander felt panicky. _No way am I going to tell them about macking the mutant!_  
  
“We had a fight,” Xander explained. “I called him a thing. He didn’t like it.”  
  
Faith knew something more was going here. The half ripe banana Xander was sporting in his pants and the love bite were enough to tell her that; but she knew pressing wouldn’t get her anywhere.  
  
“Oh Xander,” Fred said. “Why would you do that?”  
  
“Because…” Xander started to explain in all fiery righteousness but then realized he just didn’t have the fuel to burn, “look I’m not sure why Spike is goin’ all trash man on you. Maybe he’s got some circuits loose. I’d lay even money on that but if you’ve come to see how the Xan-man is then I’m fine.”  
  
“Do you want to stay here tonight,” Faith asked bluntly.  
  
“What?” Xander replied not expecting the question.  
  
“Do you want to sleep somewhere else?”  
  
“Like some where that’ll get my brain fried for being in an unauthorized area?” Xander sneered.  
  
“Oh I can program the collar,” Fred said. “Just take a moment. Just tell me who you want to sleep with.”  
  
Then Fred blushed when she realized what she said.  
  
“I mean…”  
  
“I know what you mean, Fred,” Xander said softly, “and thanks but I can’t see me bunking with you, Wesley or Gunn and I don’t do sloppy seconds.”  
  
Xander said the last when looking at Faith.  
  
Faith flinched, “I’m more of a friend then you realize Xander.”  
  
“Oh yeah, Faith?” Xander said. “Then get me out of this freak club.”  
  
Faith shook her head. “Can’t do it. Even if you were Jesse.”  
  
It was Xander’s turn to flinch.  
  
“Yeah, well once again, thanks for nothing Faith,” Xander said and then sighed when he saw both the girls flinch. He really just needed some time alone and to get his thoughts together. “Look, I’m sorry. You guys obviously came here to help and I’m being a jerk. I’m fine. I’ll crash on Captain Peroxide’s couch and hopefully he’ll leave off with the mass mess before there isn’t a mess left for breakfast.”  
  
Fred smiled a little.  
  
“Go take care of your Captain. I’m fine,” Xander said.  
  
“All right,” Faith said. “However, you need anything, use your communicator.”  
  
“Will it signal the Council?”  
  
“Oh not really,” Fred answered. “Signal’s not strong enough. It’s pretty much only able to carry through the ship and in a small ar…oh that was a rhetorical question wasn’t it?”  
  
Xander laughed and leaned over to kiss the thin woman on the forehead, “’Night Fred,” he said and then shut the cabin door.  
  
Xander leaned against the back of the door and sighed. He rubbed his hand over his face and thought. _What had happened to me tonight? And why had Spike freaked? And why am I still half hard?_  
  
Xander moved a way from the door and headed back for the small bedroom. It looked like it should smell of sex and spent passion. Xander’s newly borrowed clothes and his shoes were scattered. His blanket and pillow were on the floor and the bed was mussed.  
  
In his mind’s eye, Xander could see himself stretched out underneath Spike on that bed. He could see him arching up into the blond man begging with his body for more of what only Spike could give. Little Xander was getting happy again.  
  
“Damn,” Xander muttered as he picked up his clothes and shoes and tried to ignore the hard length in his pants.  
  
Until Spike, Jesse had been the only man Xander had ever wanted. Jesse had never shown or expressed any interest in that kind of relationship and so Xander had only experienced the touch of a manly hug or a slap on the back.  
  
Xander picked up his blanket and pillow and carried them into the sitting area and thought how he’d survived on those innocent touches. Oh yeah, he’d had a fling with Anya and it had been good. In her he could bury his desire for Jesse over and over again until she was insensate; but it was never enough for Xander. In the end they both knew it wouldn’t work and it was almost a relief when her special assignment was over and she went back to D’Hoffryn to work Black Ops.  
  
When Jesse had died… _was ripped apart,_ Xander’s memories corrected. Xander’s desire had as well. He’d felt nothing for no one; not even his own hand. Xander had been oddly ok with that anyway. He couldn’t see a lot of men or women beating down the door for a one-eye freak of a failure that couldn’t follow protocol and got their best friend and commanding officer killed.  
  
Xander’s litany of self abuse was well memorized.  Yet, with one kiss; one searing, unexpected and unasked for kiss from Spike, a Biogen,  something had ignited in Xander long cold.  
  
“I need a shower,” Xander growled in frustration and marched back toward the bathroom. He didn’t glance toward the bed. He just threw his patch on the dresser, stripped and threw his clothes in the cleaner. Xander stepped into the shower and flipped on the cycle.  
  
Xander had hoped the tepid water would shrink his still interested erection but once again Xander was disappointed. Xander grabbed the soap and began to briskly scrub himself down. He scrubbed extra hard anywhere and every where Spike had touched him.  
  
Doing so only seemed to reignite fresh memories and Xander relived the touches. Spike hands were surprisingly soft and his lips were supple. Xander had felt like a meal spread out before a starving man who was going to enjoy him bite by bite.  
  
Spike seemed to want to taste and savor Xander and yet at the same time bring him to a fevered pitch where all Xander knew was the touch of Spike. Xander groaned. He was fully hard again.  
  
He turned and leaned his head against the wall of the shower stall. Xander tried to think of Jesse. Xander tried to remember his smile; his eyes and his hair. All Xander could recall were perfect sharp white teeth, soft golden locks pressed close to a hard chiseled scalp and the most intense blue eyes ever developed.  
  
“Oh God,” Xander moaned and found his hands beginning to dance over and stroke his weeping hard-on almost of their own volition.  
  
“Oh please,” he gasped as he remembered the taste of Spike. Spike’s mouth pressed into Xander’s. Spike’s tongue danced inside Xander’s mouth. Spike tasted of whiskey, gaspers and something raw and powerful like desire itself.  
  
“Fuck..fuck..fuck,” Xander began to chant as he closed one hand over his balls and sped up the strokes on his shaft with the other. He was so close.  
  
Spike had marked him. Spike had bit and sucked until there was a mark on Xander’s neck. No one had ever claimed Xander before. Xander tried not to think of the tiny thrill that ran through him at knowing he was marked. He was claimed. He was _wanted._  
  
“SPIKE!” Xander shouted as he thrust and jerked forward into his hand. Long streams of a year’s worth of cold desire, sorrow and a lifetime of frustration shot from Xander. Hot thick spurts of living seed hit the shower stall wall and Xander felt himself lost in the pure oblivion that was a powerful orgasm.  
  
Over and over Xander cried Spike’s name until his desire was spent, the water was gone and Xander was a shaking heap on the floor of the shower stall.  
  


TBC


	9. (9/43 plus Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lt. “Xander” Harris and Captain William the Bloody have both suffered and lost in the on going war between the Biogens and Council. Now, Xander finds himself a prisoner of Captain William the Bloody (aka Spike). What will be Xander’s fate?

_SPIKE!” Xander shouted as he thrust and jerked forward into his hand. Long streams of a year’s worth of cold desire, sorrow and a lifetime of frustration shot from Xander. Hot thick spurts of living seed hit the shower stall wall and Xander felt himself lost in the pure oblivion that was a powerful orgasm._  
  
Over and over Xander cried Spike’s name until his desire was spent, the water was gone and Xander was a shaking heap on the floor of the shower stall.  


***********************************************************************************************************************************************

  
Xander woke early the next morning; way early.  He’d fallen asleep easily enough. The night’s emotional maelstrom and orgasm had seen to an exhausted Xander stumbling from the shower and tumbling on to the couch into a deep sleep. Only the sleep hadn’t lasted long enough.   
  
The breakfast chime was still a few hours away and Xander was wide awake. He lay on the couch thinking of the previous night’s events.   
  
_What had happened?_ Xander thought. _Where did I go wrong? One minute I’m Mr. Stoney-face guy and the next I’m ‘hey lets get jiggy with it’ schmo!_  
  
Xander groaned and rolled over on to his stomach. He let an arm drop off the front of the couch. _And why Spike? Why after all these months did suddenly Little Xander remember he could do more than pee?_  
  
Images of Spike flashed through Xander’s head. There was Spike as he leaned against a hatchway; his shirt taunt across his well muscled shoulders. There was Spike when he was teasing with his supple lips pulled back into a heart-stopping grin.   
  
_Whoa! No heart stopping here,_ Xander corrected himself as he found his heart rate increase.  
  
There was the memory of Spike purring words into Xander’s ear as he held Xander’s penis while Xander relieved himself.  
  
 _Ok! That was not sexy!! That was humiliating!_ Xander thought and while ninety-nine percent of Xander was in complete agreement with the point, Little Xander was holding out. Boy was little Xander holding out! Little Xander argued it didn’t care why Spike had been holding him; he just wanted those hands back on him again.  
  
Xander flipped around until he was on his back. _Oh God,_ Xander thought. _This is some sort of thing that happens to prisoners isn’t? Or maybe its some sorta super secret seductive powers Biogens have!  
_  
Little Xander didn’t care what it was. Little Xander was twitching and pressing happily against Xander’s stomach; begging for some morning attention.   
  
“Ok,” Xander finally told his irritating penis, “but not on the couch.”  
  
Xander stood up and wrapped the blanket around him; he hadn’t bothered to dress before crashing. Quietly, Xander snuck his way to the bedroom hoping to slip past Spike and into the shower for a yet another dishonorable discharge.  
  
However, Xander’s plans were slightly derailed when he realized a) Spike wasn’t in the room and b) it looked Spike had not been in the room all night.  
  
 _What? Why didn’t he come ho…back to the cabin?_ Xander wondered. _Where was he?_  
  
Faith and Fred had said Spike had lost it in the mess. _Had he hurt himself?_ Xander snorted at the thought. _It would take more than a temper tantrum to hurt a Biogen and why is it I care again?_  
  
Xander dropped his blanket and made his way back to the shower. He stepped in and flipped the cycle on letting the water cascade over him. Xander snaked his hands down to start the “staff meeting” only to discover the staff was no longer interested.   
  
“Ah for…,” Xander growled, “make up your mind!”  
  
***  
After Xander’s shower and aborted hands on time, Xander dressed, tidied the cabin and decided he’d better check out the mess.   
  
“What a mess,” Xander mumbled and paled as he stood in the center of the room and saw the damage. The table was still standing but at least three chairs were nothing more than junk. Cabinet doors had been ripped from their hinges and looked like they’d gouged the metal of the bulkhead where they had been violently thrown.   
  
_Spike had done this!_ Xander fought the little tremors of memories that threatened to overwhelm him; memories of another Biogen who’d ripped things apart.  
  
“Xander,” Spike’s voice came quietly from behind him.  
  
Xander turned around. A complex rush of emotions washed through him when he saw Spike unharmed and leaning against the hatchway arch; fear, relief, embarrassment and a spike of desire.  
  
“It’s my mess,” Spike said softly. “I’ll clean it up. You can go back to the cabin if you want.”  
  
“What about the morning meal?” Xander asked not really knowing what to say at the moment while his emotions and unwanted desire were still playing havoc.  
  
Spike smiled. “Wot, you don’t think we survived without you?”  
  
“Who’s going to cook it?” Xander persisted for some reason, “I mean I might want to know who’s going to try and poison me.”  
  
Spike smiled again at Xander’s attempt at humor and took a small step into the mess. “No ones going to poison you, pet.”   
  
“Right,” Xander said. “Gunn’s lookin’ like a likely suspect.”  
  
“Oi!,” Spike laughed. “You don’t think we’d let Charley boy cook do ya? We’re lawless scum and criminals, but we aren’t daft.”  
  
Spike stepped farther into the room. He knew it was madness but he had to check out his boy. Spike froze. _When had Xander become_ his _boy?_    
  
Spike’s gaze wandered over Xander. He spotted the edge of the love mark peeking out from Xander’s collar. _That’s when,_ Spike thought. _That’s when he became MY boy._  
  
Xander swallowed as he watched Spike look him over. Xander should be outraged. He should be frightened. Xander was busy trying to distract Little Xander from waving “hi” at the big bad Biogen.  
  
“Uhm, well,” Xander struggled for a reply. “Biogens are known for their brutality; not their smarts.”  
  
For some reason Xander regretted his words instantly we he saw Spike flinch. _Ok, what is **wrong** with me?_  
  
“Yeah,” Spike said once again moving toward Xander. “I’m sorry about that…sorry for ….”  
  
Xander flushed. Little Xander twitched.   
  
“Look,” Xander said, “you’re right. As things go during war you and the crew haven’t quite lived up to Council reputation but that doesn’t mean we’re not enemies and that I’m not going to fight you or that I want any of the crap you are trying to shovel my way. For all I know, this whole _human_ decency thing you’ve got going is just a ruse to set me up and keep me off guard until you can get close enough…”  
  
Xander stopped. He wasn’t going there!  
  
“That wot happened before?” Spike asked gently as he edged closer to Xander. His boy’s pain was drawing him close.  
  
“I’m not talking about it,” Xander clipped.  
  
Spike was in front of Xander now. There was a new scent in the air; something musky and vibrant. Spike looked over his boy again.   
  
“I’m sorry about thi…” Spike began as he reached out to gently touch the mark he’d left on his boy.  
  
“Don’t,” Xander whispered but not in time to stop that gentle finger.  
  
The tip of Spike’s finger touched Xander’s bruised and colored flesh. Desire rippled through Xander and once again he found himself ripening for Spike.  
  
Spike’s eyes grew wide as the room was filled with more of the wonderful musky scent. Spike noted the flush that swept over Xander. Spike could feel the heat coming off his boy. He didn’t need to look down to know the source of that wonderful scent; his boy’s pheromones were swirling about.  
  
Xander wanted him! Even after what had happened last night, his boy wanted him.  
  
Spike withdrew his finger and held still. Whatever happened next, he knew he couldn’t afford to spook Xander.  
  
Xander stared at Spike. There was no way he couldn’t notice what was happening to Xander.  
  
“Guess I was wrong. Didn’t take guns or drugs…,” Xander finally whispered. “…please tell me this is some sort of Biogen thing?”  
  
Spike shook his head.   
  
“Fuck!” Xander said as angry tears formed in his eye. “I really hate you, you know that?”  
  
Then Xander fled leaving Spike alone in the mess and Xander’s lingering scent. Spike knew he should have felt hurt or angry but as he brought the tip of the finger that had touch Xander to his lips Spike felt something different. Spike felt something that had been dead in him a long time come back to life. Xander wanted him and Spike felt hope.  
  
 **TBC**


	10. (10/43 plus Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lt. “Xander” Harris and Captain William the Bloody have both suffered and lost in the on going war between the Biogens and Council. Now, Xander finds himself a prisoner of Captain William the Bloody (aka Spike). What will be Xander’s fate?

_“Fuck!” Xander said as angry tears formed in his eye. “I really hate you, you know that?”  
  
Then Xander fled leaving Spike alone in the mess and Xander’s lingering scent. Spike knew he should have felt hurt or angry but as he brought the tip of the finger that had touch Xander to his lips Spike felt something different. Spike felt something that had been dead in him a long time come back to life. Xander wanted him and Spike felt hope._

_****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************  
  
_ Xander stormed around the cabin. He wanted to throw things around, but he knew he’d only to pick them back up when he was done.   
  
_Captain’s Mate…Captain’s Freak…toy…idiot,_ Xander silently ranted.  Xander threw himself on the couch, crossed his arms and thrust his feet on to the small table.   
  
_First thing I’m doing when I get back to the ‘Dale,_ Xander planned, _I’m spending all my credits with the sexiest Bliss worker I can buy. Hell, **two** workers! One male and one female. Maybe I’ll get three! All guys and we’ll do one of those daisy chain things I saw in a vid._ Little Xander wasn’t interested.  
  
“This is all your fault!” Xander said as he looked at his groin. “A year! A year full of nothing and now when I’m a prisoner, with the need to escape to be foremost on my mind, you suddenly start with the ‘happy pants dance?’”  
  
 _I’m so screwed,_ Xander thought. Little Xander twitched at the idea, as long as the screwing involved a certain blonde captain with a killer reputation.  Xander leaned back his head and groaned. He thought about raiding Spike’s bar and visiting his old haunt, oblivion. However, the _DeSoto_ was due to arrive on Oxnard some time that day and Xander wanted to be clear-headed in case he saw a chance for escape or a way to signal the Council.  
  
 _Why now?_ He asked himself again. _Is this some sort of dependency thing? Am I grateful I’m not dead and that’s somehow translating itself into some sorta very misplaced lust?_  
  
Xander stood up and paced. _Ok,_ _Spike's the first one who’s touched me in…well in a long time. And yeah, the mutant-from-a-can knows what he’s doing, but why him?  
_  
 _I haven’t wanted anyone since…,_ Xander paused his thoughts. _I don’t deserve anyone. Is that why? Is Spike what I deserve?_  
  
Xander wandered into the bedroom and studied himself in the small dressing mirror. He still looked flushed and he could see what he couldn’t hide; the edge of the love bite.  
  
Xander pulled his collar away so he could see the whole bruise. _Is this what I deserve, Jesse?_ Xander pondered. _Is this what I deserve for letting you down…for ignoring protocol…for believing a Biogen?_  
  
Of their own accord, Xanders’ fingers traced the bruise. Vaguely, Xander registered the morning mess chime was ringing. Xander ignored it.   
  
Gently Xander traced the mark with his finger tips. _So many times I’d think about marks like these, Jesse,_ Xander mused. _So many times I’d think of them and want them from you. I let a Biogen rip you away. Maybe it’s only right I let a Biogen rip those fantasies away too. I lost you and maybe I deserve to lose the dream too._  
  
Xander moved his fingers away and straightened his collar.    
  
“C’mon Xan-man,” Xander said aloud. “Shake it off. Wonder about your crazy hormones later. Think. You have a chance to get away or signal the Council while on Oxnard.”  
  
 _Not everyone on the colony can be a rebel,_ Xander thought. Xander turned around and looked at the cabin. He couldn’t just sit here all day and CM and KP duties be damned; he wasn’t going back to the mess.   
  
_Maybe I missed something,_ Xander thought. _Maybe there’s something here I can use for trade; something to buy me a tool or a message._  
  
Xander once again started to snoop. This time he was a little more thorough and searched the long black coat hanging in the small wardrobe. He didn’t think there’d be much use for the small flask or the pack of gasper, but in a small inside breast pocket he found a few round coins of real currency.   
  
Xander smiled. After all, Spike had said he could go anywhere or talk to anyone. Xander had a plan.  
  
***  
  
Faith hopped up on the navigation console in front of Spike.  
  
“Bloody hell!” Spike snapped, “Get your arse off there ya trollop.”  
  
“That’s what I love about you, Spike,” Faith said as she smiled and wiggled her behind. “You’re such a sweet talker.”  
  
Spike looked at the former Regent. She arched an eyebrow at him.  
  
“Wes isn’t going to like hiney prints all over his board,” Spike said.  
  
“Wes doesn’t like a lot of things,” Faith grinned. “Never stopped me before.”  
  
“So, luv, what brings you to the bridge?”  
  
“I’m first mate, Spike,” Faith answered. “Where should I be?”  
  
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe down in the cargo bay helping Gunn do a final check over before we land?”  
  
Faith nodded. “I’ll get to that…”  
  
“But first ya want a word with me, is it?” Spike continued.   
  
Faith nodded again.   
  
“Bridge is bit small for a throw down, init?” Spike asked.  
  
“Spike, if I were going to throw down with you over last night,” Faith purred, “room would be the least of your worries.”  
  
Spike narrowed his eyes. “Feel like playing Regent again, luv?”  
  
“Nope. We’re good.”  
  
“But you want to talk…”  
  
“Where’s this going?” Faith interrupted.  
  
“Huh?”  
  
“Look, I saw the mack mark and I saw the sprig Xander was haulin,” Faith said.  
  
 _Boy was still sportin wood when Faith saw him?_ Spike wondered and couldn’t help but smile.  
  
“Yeah, right there, that’s the problem, Spike.”  
  
“Wot?”  
  
“He’s Council. You’re a Biogen. He’s best friends with B, Regent Prime and Willow, _Cybermage_ Prefect and you wanna play hide the sausage?”  
  
“Oi!”  
  
“Spike, what you gonna do keep him prisoner on the _DeSoto_ forever?”  
  
“I’m taking him to Angel,” Spike said.   
  
“And along the way what...keep laying the pipe and bumping uglies until Xander’s sees the light?”  
  
“That’s not what happened last night,” Spike growled.  
  
“No, but what about tonight or tomorrow night…or the next night? Or hell! Any times a good time for bump and grind.”  
  
“What business…”  
  
“Spike! Look at the mess! Remember Gunn pullin’ his gun…on you?”  
  
“I remember,” Spike snapped.  
  
“Then think. This ain’t good.”  
  
Spike stood and paced.   
  
“You think I wanted this? You think I want to want that prat? I _know_ he hates me. I _know_ he’d betray us the first chance he got but….” Spike paused.  
  
“What?” Faith asked.  
  
“Sometimes want doesn’t make any sense, Faith. It just is. It screams and bleeds and it isn’t something ya can _think_ through! It’s about living, Faith. It’s part of what makes us… _human._ And if I _could_ just _think_ it away then I’d really be no more than the organic machine the Council says I am.”  
  
Spike crossed over to Faith and cupped her face in his hands.  
  
“Listen, luv, us Biogens we didn’t get to grow up like other people. We came of age in rage in revenge. Humanity came to us with blood on our hands. Ya think the tender emotions come any easier?”  
  
Faith raised her hands to meet Spike’s. “I know,” she whispered. “Just…be careful..and…”  
  
“Don’t hurt him,” Spike finished for her. “I know, luv.”  
  
Spike leaned in and kissed Faith’s forehead and then released her.  
  
“Now, get you bloomin’ bum off my console and get down to the cargo bay,” Spike growled.  
  
Faith smiled and hopped off the console. “Aye! Aye Captain!” she said and then sauntered towards the bridge hatch.   
  
“Oh and Faith,” Spike said. “Along the way take my b…take Xander some breakfast and then take him with you to the bay. I want him with Gunn while we are on Oxnard.”  
  
“No sweat,” Faith replied before heading out.  
  
***  
  
Faith had found Xander grumpy and bored. He had answered quickly to her knock.   
  
“Faith,” Xander had sighed as if she were the latest of unpleasant discoveries of the morning.   
  
“Xander,” Faith had said as he handed him some fruit packets and carafe of proto-fizz. “Ya missed breakfast.”  
  
“Maybe I’m on a hunger strike?” Xander had said.   
  
Faith had arched her eyebrow. Xander’s appetite had been legendary back in the ‘Dale.  
  
“OK, short lived hunger strike,” Xander had said as he moved to the couch and table and began to dig into the fruit packets. Faith let herself in the cabin.  
  
“Make your self at home,” Xander had quipped with his mouth full.  
  
“I’m good,” Faith had said while she strolled around taking stock. Everything looked neat and in order. _Maybe there’s a slight benefit to this situation,_ Faith had mused.   
  
“Sooo, you here to make sure I’m a good boy and eat?” Xander had asked.  
  
“Actually, I’m to take you with me to the cargo bay when you’re done. You’re to help Gunn and I do a final check over before we land on Oxnard.”  
  
Xander’s eye had narrowed. “You really are going to make me do this aren’t you?”  
  
Faith had nodded. _If only you’d understand,_ she’d thought.  
  
Xander then had quickly gobbled up what was left of his breakfast. “Well then, let’s get this over with.”  
   
 _The sooner we get to_ _Oxnard_ _,_ he’d thought, _the sooner I can put my plan into action._  
  
***  
Xander had been surprised how quickly the work had gone down in the cargo bay and with the cargo itself. Most of it was meds stolen from _The Snyder_ but there was also a large shipment of food and some raw materials; agricultural and industrial.  
  
“Where did this come from?” Xander asked about the raw materials. _Surely they had to have come from Council central and if they had the raids would have been on the Net._  
  
Gunn and Faith looked at each other. They walked a fine line between what information to share with Xander. He already knew too much; especially as far as Gunn was concerned. Faith had no idea what Angel would decide to do; keep him prisoner or try and use his release as a form of leverage or negotiation.  However, Faith still hoped that maybe Xander could begin to see the galaxy outside Council doctrine.  
  
 _Maybe if I can ‘bring Xan’ along_ , she thought, _maybe it’ll make up for how things went down with Jesse._  
  
“From other colonies,” Faith answered.   
  
Xander stared at her. “That’s not possible.”  
  
“What?” Charles said. “You think only Council worlds can and know how to produce? That’s what they want so everything stays under their control. But there are some robust colonies out there and they are willing to trade with other colonies.”  
  
“But the Raiders…,” Xander argued. “…rebel colonies are not under Council protection”  
  
“No,” Gunn said, “They are under ours.”  
  
 _Biogens! Biogens and their collaborators protecting human colonies?_  
  
“And what’s it cost them?” Xander cracked.  
  
“A lot less then what the Council demands,” Gunn said flatly.  
  
“And what’s that supposed to mean?” Xander asked.  
  
“Xander,” Faith quietly warned.  
  
“You know maybe if you ever stopped flappin’ you lips and stopped spoutin’ Council smack you might learn something. Look around, Council boy, the galaxy ain’t what they said it was,” Gunn retorted.  
  
“No answer, just an attack of my question. Way to prove a point brain man,” Xander snapped.  
  
Gunn crossed the bay and grabbed Xander by the arms.  
  
“Gunn!” shouted Faith.  
  
“It’s ok, Faith,” Xander said looking into the angry gunner’s face, “let the big man with the gun pick on the collared, unarmed, one-eye guy to prove how superior his boss’s are to mine.”  
  
“If it was my choice, Council boy,” sneered Gunn, “I’d leave your skinny ass stripped naked at Oxnard’s _Fabulous “Ladies” Night Club_ and let you work your way back to the Council. They’d just love a cherry Council boy like you.”  
  
Then Gunn released Xander and stormed out of the bay.   
  
“Yeah, well…my ass ain’t that skinny!” Xander had shouted after the retreating Gunn.  
  
Faith had sighed. “You really should try and ride him less, Xander.”  
  
“Why?” Xander had quipped.   
  
“Cuz, for one, he’s got your six while we’re on Oxnard.”  
  
***  
It was well after the lunch mess chime, which Xander had also ignored, before Xander felt the ship enter atmosphere. After finishing up in the bay with Faith, Xander had returned to the cabin. He refused to go back to the mess, even for lunch.   
  
Xander had spent his time thinking of creative insults to hurl at Gunn and for carrying out his plan. He most certainly did not wonder when he’d see Spike next; and skipping lunch had nothing to do with avoiding the seductive blonde man.  
  
 _I need to figure out how to slip away from Gunn._ Xander snorted _, shouting “Look! Raw Meat!” should do the trick._  
  
Xander paced the cabin as he felt the ship decelerate. _I’ll need to find out how much a lead I have on my leash, then slip the dog, and then surely I can find someone who’ll send a message?_  
  
The stabilizers did their trick and apparently so did Wes because the ship came to a smooth stop. Xander quickly searched himself, double-checking the hidden coins in his shoes. Then he waited.   
  
He didn’t have to wait to long before there was a thumping on the door.  
  
“Let’s go, Council boy!” Xander heard Gunn shout.    
  
“Gunn! My favorite primitive life form.” Xander responded in greeting as he opened the cabin door. “Figured out the whole wheel concept yet?”  
  
“Been busy perfecting my ‘clubbing annoying twats’ technique,” Gunn answered as Xander exited the cabin and joined Gunn in the corridor. Gunn turned and headed towards the bay. Xander followed.   
  
“You know, not that you care or anything, but I am wondering,” Xander started. “Assuming you aren’t going to be removing my little necklace here, exactly how am I supposed to keep my brain from frying once we leave the ship? How am I supposed to know where I can go?”  
  
“Spike had Fred set the collar on a hundred kilometer radius from the ship,” Gunn replied. “Same range as your communicator.”  
  
“So what…I some how get a hundred ‘K’ a way and you’ll be…”  
  
“Be able to hear you cry for mommy, yeah,” Gunn said half smiling. “Oh..and please _do_ get some funny ideas about the colonists. You’re collar’s been programmed to zing ya if you try and harm them too.”  
  
“Don’t look, Gunn,” Xander said. “But I think your humanity is slipping.”  
  
Gunn grunted and they continued on in silence to the bay. Once there they began working with Faith to load up a small hov-cart to transport the shipment.   
  
“Open her up,” Faith shouted and someone on the bridge followed the command and the bay doors opened and the bay ramp lowered. Sunlight flowed into the bay and Xander blinked in the first natural light he’d seen in days. _Must be mid-morning planet side,_ Xander observed.  
  
“Well looks like I get a second chance a lunch,” Xander said.   
  
“Right,” Gunn replied and then pushed Xander towards the hov-cart controls. “Move it, Council Boy.”  
  
Xander gritted his teeth, engaged the hov-cart to forward and began to steer it out of the bay.  
  
“I got point,” Faith said as she took the lead and moved in front of Xander and the hov-cart as they headed down the small ramp.   
  
Xander and Gunn followed. People were gathered close to the bottom of the ramp already waiting to receive the supplies. Xander was more than a little shocked at the people’s appearance. They looked hardened as if everything in life had come at a cost much more expensive then they could really afford.   
  
There was an air of “battle-ready” even as they greeted Faith and Gunn with smiles and open arms. Many of the men and women bore scars and signs of injury. Already, Xander could tell that this was not one of the smooth, clean and efficient worlds run by the Council.   
  
Once they’d moved to the center of the throng, Faith called a halt. Xander and Gunn began to unlock and unload supplies. Faith seemed to know who got what and the men followed her lead.   
  
“Gunn,” Faith said when they were done, “Take Xander for a stroll. See if you can scrounge up some replacement chairs for the mess. We’ll meet back at the ship by the dinner chime.”  
  
“Come on, Council boy,” Gunn grunted. “Faith says I gotta walk ya.”  
  
Gun and Xander walked around the colony port headed for what Xander assumed was the market district. While Xander was alert for an opportunity to slip away from Gunn he also noted the make-up of the colony. While it seemed there were a good deal of ships onsite the construction of the local buildings was poor and well worn. The streets were of the same caliber and everything felt like it needed an upgrade. It seemed to Xander the port was the heart and soul of the colony and the only real “business” it had.  
  
“Why do they live like this?” Xander muttered.   
  
“Like what? Free?” growled Gunn behind him.   
  
“Live so…rough? The Council could help them. Build better roads ..buildings..industry,” Xander began to list Council services.  
  
“Only as long as they are willing to trade exclusively with Council central and provide a quota of folks to serve in the Council Initiative,” Gunn replied.  
  
“And for that they get protection from Raiders and Biogens,” Xander replied.   
  
“One,” Gun said with a simmered fury, “Biogens aren’t the big bad boogeyman the Council’s got you trained to believe little boy. They’re no threat to these people and they know it. Two, the Raiders go when and where they please and the Council only sends out their guns to where it’s of a strategic benefit for the Council, not the colonists. So when the Raiders come by, colonists are left defenseless.”  
  
“They can call up their own militia,” Xander argued.   
  
“A militia of what?” Gunn replied, “old folks and kids! If a colony meets the Council’s quota that’s all there’s left.”  
  
“I think you’re exaggerating,” Xander said.  
  
“Am I, Council Boy?” Gunn growled as he threw Xander into a wall and held him there. “I was sixteen when I joined my grandfather and friends in the defense of our colony against Raiders. My folks had already joined the Initiative, as most of the other able bodied men and women, to meet our colony’s quota. We sent a distress signal and received no reply. The Raiders came and what was left, kids and old folks, fought and we lost. And while some of us survived some like my kid sister; a sweet thirteen year old girl got caught up in the raid. She was lucky she didn’t make it off the planet. She didn’t last that long. I wouldn’t have either if it hadn’t been for Angel and the _DeSoto_. They heard the distress call, _they_ responded and _they_ saved what was left of us. All they wanted in return? A safe haven now and then from the Council and a little trade. Easy. Granted. A year later when my folks were KIA? I signed up with Angel and I haven’t looked back.”  
  
Xander stared at the angry and hurt man before him. Xander couldn’t help feeling tears in his own eye for all the ones he could see Gunn would never let himself have.  
  
“Gunn, I’m…,” Xander began to say.  
  
“Don’t!” Gunn interrupted. “Don’t say you’re sorry. Just cut the Council crap with me. I ain’t interested and I ain’t _ever_ in the mood.”  
  
Xander nodded. Gunn released Xander and quickly strode away.   
  
_Now’s my chance,_ Xander thought even as part of him hated what he was about to do: kick Gunn when he was down. _But my chance to prove what a “Council prick” I am is also my chance to escape._   
  
Despite Gunn’s painful story, Xander had an obligation to escape or get a message back to the Council. _I’ll look into what happened with Gunn when I get back,_ Xander reasoned with himself. _I can have_ _Willow_ _help me. It had to be a mistake…a big mistake and maybe there’s something I can do for the survivors or get Gunn some sort of deal based on extenuating circumstances._  
  
While, Gunn’s back was turned and he was a bit of a distance from Xander, Xander darted down an alley, jerked off his communicator and began to run. He wasn’t sure where he was going at first and he didn’t much care. He just zigged and zagged and cut through various streets and alleys trying to put some distance and confusion between him and Gunn.  
  
***  
  
“Xander,” Gunn began already regretting his outburst. He knew the boy had been nothing but a Council tool since birth but it still rankled Gunn to hear anyone sport the Council line.  
  
 “Xander,” Gunn said again and turned around and noted the other man’s absence. “You little mot….!”  
  
Gunn tapped his communicator. “I lost him,” he growled into it.  
  
“Wot!” came Spike’s immediate reply.   
  
“Soldier boy gave me the slip!” Gunn said.  
  
“Faith…” roared Spike’s voice.   
  
“I’m on it,” she said.   
  
“I’m scanning,” chimed in Fred.  
  
“I’ve got the ship,” said Wes.  
  
“Give me the coordinates of where you last saw him,” Spike ordered. “I’ll join you and begin my hunt from there.”   
  
***  
Once Xander thought he’d put enough distance between he and Gunn he began to try and take note of where he was. He was still fairly close to the port. _Now, to find a seedy little…well ok everything here looks seedy,_ Xander thought. _Just need to find a pleasure center or bar and pay to get a message out._  
  
Xander kept walking and stuck as close to the shadows and alleys as he could. He kept a careful eye on passerbys being sure none of them were members of the _DeSoto_ or worse; the _DeSoto’s_ captain.  
  
Eventually, Xander found a small building near the port which looked like just the sort of dive he needed. “Willie’s” flashed in neon above the door. Xander went in and scanned the room. There were vids playing on several wall screens and Gambit tables set up in the back. Along the far wall was the bar lined with the serious drinkers. There were a sundry mix of men and women scattered through out the place. Xander moved to the side and removed his coins from his shoes. Then he went to the bar.  
  
“What ya need?” the bartender asked.  
  
“Shot of whi…bourbon,” Xander said, “and some one passing near a Council relay station soon.”  
  
Xander passed one of his precious coins over to the bartender. The barkeep smiled and poured the shot.   
  
“Merl, there,” the barkeep pointed to a man at the end of the bar. “He’s been known to do flybys by Council stats and he’s always in a need of a little real coin.”  
  
“Thanks,” Xander nodded and then slammed back his drink. Xander tried really hard not to choke or cough. _Bourbon’s as refined as the people,_ Xander silently mused. Then he made his way down the somewhat crowded bar next to “Merl.”  
  
Merl turned and looked at Xander. Xander smiled.   
  
“What?” Merl growled.  
  
“I was just wondering if you in the market for doing a favor?” Xander asked.  
  
“Depends,” Merl said as he took a sip of his drink, “What’s the favor and how much you willing to pay?”  
  
Xander opened his hand to show a couple of coins.  
  
“I left home for a free life with out a word. Want to let my sis know I’m ok and where she can find me if she wants one too,” Xander began his cover story. “All I want is a message passed through a Council relay station.”  
  
“What’s the message,” Merl asked suspiciously.  
  
“Wills, I’m fine. Settled on Oxnard. Jesse,” Xander answered.  
  
“Sure, I’ll do it. But I want the coins up front. What’s the addy?” asked Merl.  
  
“Gotta unit?” Xander replied as he handed his coins over to Merl.  
  
Merl dug in his pocket and pulled out a personal display unit.   
  
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” a strange voice growled from behind Merl and Xander. Both men turned to look. A large man Xander didn’t recognize was standing there with a foreboding look on his face.   
  
“And why not?” asked Merl. “Sounds like easy money to me.”  
  
“Easy money that’ll you’ll never be able to spend from inside a Council initiative cell,” answered the man and the crowd at Willie’s began to go quiet as they listened to the exchange.  
  
“Look mister,” Xander gave his most winning smile. “I don’t kno…”  
  
“See that thing on his neck,” the large man pointed at Xander’s throat.  
  
 _Ok, I’m starting to have a bad feeling about this;_ Xander thought and began edging himself away from Merl and the large scary man only to be grabbed by another customer.  
  
‘I’ve seen some folks with the same kind of collar on Hyperion,” the man said and buzz seemed to go through the bar and anyone who hadn’t been paying attention now was. “The folks who wear those collars on Hyperion are prisoners. They’re Council and the collar’s how Angel and the Biogens keep ‘em in line.”  
  
Merl stood up and grabbed Xander jerking him from the other customer’s grasp.  
  
“Council?” he roared. “You’re trying to get me to pass a message to the Council?!”  
  
“Look…,” Xander tried to say before Merl’s big meaty fist slammed into Xander’s face sending him stumbling backward. Xander could feel the blood trickling down his nose before he crashed to the floor.  
  
“I just wanna…,” Xander tried to say again as he found himself picked up by the mystery muscle man before having a different meaty fist rammed into his stomach. Air and a painful “UGHH!” rushed out of Xander and he was briefly glad he hadn’t had lunch.  
  
“Council whore!” yelled the large man who again took a swing at the doubled over Xander.   
  
Xander caught movement in the peripheral vision of his right eye and acted on instinct. Xander launched a punch of his own. He had the brief sense of satisfaction as he felt his fist connect with a hard jaw and then Xander fell screaming to the floor as once again the collar fired sending blazing pain up his neck and then down all his nerve endings.  
  
For a moment there was stunned silence around the bar and then laughter as the patrons realized what had happened.  
  
“So that’s how the collar works,” the big man said as he rubbed his jaw and sneered down at the still writhing Xander. “We can hit you all we want and you can’t hit back!”  
  
The big man once again hauled Xander up off the floor and then propped him up against the bar.   
  
“Step right up; Ladies and Gentleman,” the man hollered, “Take your free strike at the Council!”

The pain-filled Xander barely understood what the man had said but he quickly realized what he’d meant when once again he found himself the recipient of another punch to the stomach.  
  
“C’mon,” the mystery man egged to someone, “you can do better than that!”  
  
Xander felt a powerful strike under his chin that rocked his head back and knocked him painfully into the bar. He registered more laughter. Once again he blearily saw movement out of his right eye heading toward him. This time he raised his arm to block the blow.  
  
“No fair!” someone shouted! “He blocked!”  
  
“Hold him!” Merl shouted and Xander felt hands grab his arms. Xander panicked and began to struggle and unfortunately fight.   
  
Two things happened. Xander’s collar fired leaving him almost insensate with pain and a rifle pulsed and fired. The hands that held Xander released him and he fell to the floor.  
  
“Next one touches him,” Gunn loudly yelled, “is a dead man!”  
  
“Gunn?” the strange big man said, “You’d kill us over a Council?”  
  
“He wouldn’t, ducks,” growled Spike as he stepped out from behind Gunn in full game face and moved toward Xander, “But I would!”  
  
Once again the room fell silent and patrons began to back away as the enraged Biogen approached the obviously hurting, slightly bloody, and fallen man. Spike leaned down and scooped Xander into his arms letting his head rest gently on Spike’s shoulder. Then Spike turned to leave the bar.  
  
“Bu..He’s Council!” yelled the man.  
  
“And he’s _my_ CM!” snarled Spike as he left with Gunn following close behind rifle still at the ready.  
  
As the _DeSoto_ crew made their way back to the ship, Xander stirred briefly in Spike’s arms and looked up him.   
  
“Spike?” Xander asked.  
  
“Yeah, pet?”  
  
“In another minute, I would’ve had ‘em,” Xander groaned and then closed his eyes.   
  
“Right, pet,” Spike chuckled and pressed his lips to the unconscious man’s forehead.

**TBC**


	11. (11/43 plus Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lt. “Xander” Harris and Captain William the Bloody have both suffered and lost in the on going war between the Biogens and Council. Now, Xander finds himself a prisoner of Captain William the Bloody (aka Spike). What will be Xander’s fate?

_“In another minute, I would’ve had ‘em,” Xander groaned and then closed his eyes.  
  
“Right, pet,” Spike chuckled and pressed his lips to the unconscious man’s forehead._

_*************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************  
  
_ As Xander returned to consciousness he noticed a couple of things; Spike was gently wiping Xander’s face with a cool wet rag and that Xander was stretched out on Spike’s bed completely sans clothes. Xander tried to sit up to get away from Spike and to reach for a blanket only to find his collar had been clipped to the restraint and so were his cuffed hands!  
  
“Goin’ somewhere?” Spike purred as he continued wipe Xander’s outraged face.  
  
“Spike!” Xander growled and began to kick his legs in frustration. “Let me go!”  
  
“Easy pet,” Spike ordered as he stilled his ministrations for a moment. “Or I’ll shackle your legs too.”  
  
Xander stared at Spike in shock. _He wouldn’t!_ Xander desperately hoped.  
  
Spike arched an eye brow. _He would!_ Xander realized and slowly lowered his legs flat to the bed and pressed them tight together.  
  
“Where are my clothes,” Xander asked in a clipped voice.  
  
“In the cleaner,” Spike replied as he began once again to wipe Xander’s face and then moved down to Xander’s neck.  
  
“And the other set?” Xander growled.  
  
“In the drawer,” Spike answered.  
  
“Well can I have them?”  
  
“Nope.”  
  
Xander blinked. “No?”  
  
“Pet…” Spike began.  
  
“Stop calling me that!” Xander shouted and then remembered his head had been fried. He winced. Spike immediately draped the cool rag over Xander’s forehead.  
  
“Pet!” Spike began again with hard emphasis. “You’ll remain with out clothes until I think you can be trusted with them again.”  
  
“What?” Xander seethed.  
  
“You betrayed us…”  
  
“Have you crossed a circuit?” Xander interrupted again. “You took me prisoner…”  
  
“You offered yourself up, pet,” Spike corrected.  
  
“I was taken prisoner, threatened with being spaced, stranded or sold, stripped of my uniform and made the ship’s cook and captain’s personal slave. When I try and escape as my rank and honor demand you think I betrayed you?” Xander ranted.  
  
Spike grabbed Xander’s chin with his hands. Xander flinched.  
  
“You think you were made a slave eh, Xander? What do you know about slavery?” Spike cracked and then ripped the comforting rag off Xander’s forehead. “A slave doesn’t get to mouth off, Xander. A slave doesn’t get to shirk his duties for a day without punishment and a slave certainly doesn’t try and run away without serious repercussions.”  
  
Spike began to trace his fingers around Xander face. Xander then realized his patch was gone and Spike’s fingers were dangerously close to tracing the misshapen flesh.  
  
“Don’t!” Xander panicked and tried to jerk away.  
  
“Slaves don’t get to talk without permission,” Spike sharply reminded the bound man, “and they certainly don’t get to tell their masters what they can do!”  
  
Spike deliberately danced his fingers across and over Xander’s left eyelid. Xander began to yell, jerk and thrash his legs. Spike snarled and moved away from his boy for a moment only to grab the leg shackles from under the bed and then grab one thrashing leg after the other. Spike made quick work of securing Xander’s ankles into the strong, firm and soft cuffs leaving Xander helplessly bound and naked on Spike’s bed.  
  
“You wanna go for broke, Xander?” Spike asked. “Say one more word without permission and I _will_ gag you!”  
  
Xander clamped his mouth shut with an audible “pop.” Spike sat back down on the bed and began to once again dance his fingers around Xander’s damaged eyed. Xander shut his good eye to try and block Spike out.  
  
Xander’s eye flew open in surprise and pain as he felt his right nipple being painfully squeezed.  
  
“Keep you’re eye open. Pay attention and look at me!” Spike ordered.  
  
Xander glared and took several deep and angry breaths; but he kept his eye opened and fixed on the hated blond man.  
  
“Good,” crooned Spike as he returned to stroking Xander’s left eye. Xander seethed but remained still and silent. Spike caressed the area with gentle touches for a little while until he seemed satisfied with Xander’s passivity. Then Spike moved his touches away from the sunken flesh to include an exploration of Xander’s entire face. Spike spent extra attention familiarizing himself with the bruised areas.  
  
Xander felt flushed and his nerves were on a different kind of fire then what the collar produced. He was humiliated, angry and embarrassed but something about Spike’s soft touches were causing his breath to catch and Little Xander to stir. Xander bit back the need to moan when Spike brushed the pad of his thumb back and forth across Xander’s bottom lip.  
  
Spike was still angry at Xander and more then in a little need to reassure himself his boy was safe. He’d begun touching Xander just because he needed to feel his alive and warm presence. Fred had checked Xander out and confirmed there was no internal damage. Spike hated the thoughts that darkened his mind at what he might have gone and done if his boy had really been hurt instead of just bruised and a bit bloodied.  
  
Now as Spike moved to sweep his hands down Xander’s chest and stomach breathing in the wonderful pheromones Xander’s was putting out he fought with the need to punish, educate and claim his boy. Xander had been reckless and put himself in a lot of danger. If he’d been successful in his plan he’d put a lot more than just himself and the _DeSoto_ crew in danger. As it was Xander had probably already started the chain of events that would leak back one of the Biogens best kept secrets to the Council; the collar. A whole bar of people had seen what it could do and no doubt word would work it’s way eventually to some Council spy.  
  
Spike trailed his hands back up Xander’s chest and began to circle those wonderfully sensitive nubs. They responded beautifully peaking and hardening until Spike wanted to nibble and taste them. So Spike did. He bent down and began a seductive torture of licking each one with broad sweeps of his tongue before going back and ruthlessly biting them with his front teeth. Over and over he repeated the process until he was sure they were sensitized to the point where the line between pleasure and pain was lost.  
  
Xander’s breathing was fast and erratic. Spike could now smell the hint of precum. He lifted his head and saw Xander’s hard and weeping cock pressed close to his belly. Spike wanted to swallow that treat down and suck it dry but he needed Xander to understand a few things and right now he knew he had Xander’s full attention.  
  
Spike sat up and looked at Xander. He began a casual stroking up and down Xander’s body as if he were petting some favored and treasured pet. Xander’s eye blazed in anger and want.  
  
“See, pet,” Spike said and noting Xander’s flinch at the label, “a slave is property and property doesn’t get a say in how it’s used or when it’s used. It’s just supposed to serve. It’s also supposed to serve with a smile I might add.”  
  
Xander narrowed his eye. _He can go to hell if he thinks I’m going to…_ , Xander’s thoughts were interrupted. Spike had wrapped his hand around Xander’s ballsac and was arching an eyebrow at Xander. The message was clear. Xander gave Spike a stiff smile.  
  
Spike accepted the tight smile and resumed his torturous petting. _Fuckin’ soulless Biogen!_ Xander thought. _Why do I want this sick sadistic freak?_  
  
“You think you’ve been a slave on the _DeSoto,_ Xander?” Spike asked.  
  
Xander remained quiet.  
  
“You have permission to speak, pet,” Spike said as once again he cupped Xander’s sac.  
  
“Yes,” clipped Xander. “CM and KP ring any bells?”  
  
“Kept you busy and distracted while you were a prisoner didn’t they?” asked Spike as he again resumed mapping Xander’s body.  
  
“What?” Xander almost groaned as Spike hand pet too close to Xander’s hard-on.  
  
“If we’d have treated you solely like a prisoner and locked you in the hatch, how batty do you think you’d be by now?” Spike asked as he traced patterns on the inside of Xander’s thigh.  
  
“I don’t know,” Xander hissed in frustration…and well frustration.  
  
Spike smiled. “Imagine being locked in a small dark area without room to lie down for days, Xander. No one talks to you and your only human interaction is when someone takes you to the loo or feeds you; if you‘re lucky. How long do you think you’d last before you start to go a little crazy?”  
  
Spike slid his hand up Xander’s belly and began to finger-fuck Xander’s belly button.  
  
“I don’t know!” Xander screamed and clenched as his balls tightened.  
  
“Days, Xander,” Spike said. “It only takes a few days and then you see things, you hear things and you’ll promise to be good and do what ever you are told.”  
  
“Oh,” Xander panted and then he wondered, “are you speaking from experience?”  
  
Spike circled Xander’s fascinating little belly button with his finger and answered, “And you care why? I’m just a soulless Biogen.”  
  
“Well it might explain why…” Xander’s words were lost in an inarticulate gasp as Spike swooped down to delve his tongue in and out of Xander’s tummy hole. Xander arched as best he could. _Why can’t I fight this_? He thought. _Why can’t I hate this?_  
  
Spike withdrew his tongue and sat back up. Once gain he studied his pet all stretched out hard, naked, flushed and so tempting on his bed. Spike was hard and weeping himself now. It was taking all of his control not to just open his boy up and thrust into Xander’s fiery center.  
  
“Have you been beaten or tortured since you been aboard the _DeSoto_ ,“ Spike asked as he resumed petting Xander.  
  
Xander groaned trying to process the verbal and physical change of tactics. “No not really, not up until the moment,” Xander finally replied.  
  
Spike arched a surprised eye brow and then chuckled as he understood. There was no doubt Spike was sensually assaulting Xander.  
  
“Were there any consequences to you for not helping today with KP at lunch?” Spike asked as he took one finger and blazed a slow trail from the base of Xander’s cock to its silky and dripping tip.  
  
“SPIKE!” Xander cried and once again arched his body. “Please stop!”  
  
“Slaves don’t get to make that call,” Spike said as he trailed the finger up and down Xander’s hard-on. Xander panted and wiggled his hips as if he could escape that finger that was marking a trail on his cock.  
  
“Slaves just do what they are told. They fuck who they are told. They serve who they are told. They kill who they are told.”  
  
Despite the desire consuming Xander something in Spike’s words held his attention more fiercely then the hand that was now beginning wrap around Xander’s erection.  
  
“Kill…?” Xander began to question as Spike began to tug and pull on Xander’s cock.  
  
“Shush,” Spike said he rubbed his thumb over Xander’s crown. Xander bucked and thrust up into Spike’s hand.  
  
“Spike…st,” Xander panted.  
  
“I won’t warn you again before gagging you,” Spike said as his free hand put a silencing finger to Xander’s lips.  
  
“Now your little stunt today,” Spike said as he continued to make Little Xander estatic, “could have gotten you killed. As a slave…as _my_ slave that would mean you’d deprive me of valuable property. That’s a punishable offence.”  
  
Once again Spike rubbed his thumb across Xander’s crown.  
  
 _Oh God,_ Xander internally screamed, _he really is going to make me do this! And I’m going to enjoy it!_  
  
“If you’d also been successful, you’d have put the Oxnard colony in danger,” Spike said.  
  
Xander’s eye widened and not with desire. A small fear raced through his system chilling his ardor a bit. _What did Spike mean by that?_ Xander wondered.  
  
“Did you ever think what would happen to the colony if you’d some how contacted the Council or escaped? Do you know that they would have sent forces to Oxnard? Do you know that they would have interrogated the people there? Who there really knew anything about you, Xander? What could anybody have told them? Not too mention, what would happen to the colony when the Council discovered they’d received stolen Council goods and had contact with Biogens?”  
  
Xander could feel Little Xander begin to wilt as Spike bombarded Xander with questions. _The colony would probably have been destroyed,_ Xander thought. _There would have been arrests and fines over the goods and the colonist probably couldn’t afford them. Families would have been broken up and…_ Xander paused for a moment. He wanted to argue that the colony shouldn’t have been doing business with the Biogens in the first place but the colony hadn’t been dealing in anything that could directly harm the Council. They had only received raw goods, food and medicine.  
  
Xander caught Spike’s gaze. Xander opened his mouth to argue he hadn’t meant to cause problems for the colonists. Spike swooped down and once again possessed Xander’s mouth.  
  
Spike’s tongue dove in and retraced the sweet warmth while Spike’s hand twined around Xander’s cock and balls again coaxing the shaft back to full hardness. Xander thought he should fight Spike by biting him but Xander’s tongue disagreed. It wanted to do battle and it engaged the enemy; Spike’s tongue. The two men fought with slick, wet kisses that left them breathless and full of each other’s taste.  
  
Xander was once again hard and wanting. Spike could feel his boy’s need for release.  
  
Spike pulled back from the kiss and stared at Xander.  
  
“You’re not my slave, pet,” Spike said as he continued to stroke Xander. “You’re a prisoner and my CM. Don’t you ever again do some thing so foolish and reckless or next time I’ll take you over my knee!”  
  
 _You wouldn’t!_ Xander thought. Spike smiled at the unsaid challenge. Xander’s eye widened realizing Spike would!  
  
“Later you will apologize to Gunn for giving him the slip,” Spike ordered. Xander narrowed his eye.  
  
“Pet, that’s one of the conditions to getting your kit back.”  
  
 _Bastard!_ Xander thought and then nodded.  
  
“Now, do you want to finish this or do you want me to let you go?” Spike asked as he stilled his hand and with drew his touch from Xander.  
  
Xander lay there bound naked in front of Spike. He was hard and weeping and he still had the lingering taste of Spike in his mouth.  
  
“Let me go,” Xander hissed through gritted teeth. _No matter what,_ Xander thought. _I’m still Lt. Xander LaVelle Harris and I’m not just gonna spread for a Biogen; even if I bust a nut!_  
  
Spike sighed and stood up. Though fully dressed, Spike’s own erection was obvious. Spike quickly undid the shackles restraining Xander’s legs before moving to the head of the bed and freeing Xander’s hands and neck.  
  
Xander sprang from the bed as quickly as he could and stood on the opposite side of the room from Spike. Both men stood staring at each other harder than either had ever been; hard for each other.  
  
Spike began to strip.  
  
“What are you doing?” Xander panicked.  
  
“I think we could use a shower,” Spike replied.  
  
“What?” Xander shouted.  
  
“A shower before bed would do us both some good,” Spike said as he removed the last of his clothes. Xander was now treated to seeing Spike gloriously nude. The man was perfect. He was rippled flesh, hard muscle and sinuous line. Spike’s cock was as arrogant as the Biogen who owned it. It pointed straight up and like Xander’s it was leaking. Xander swallowed.  
  
“I don’t think…” Xander began.  
  
“That’s obvious, pet,” Spike smiled and interrupted before holding out a hand, “but it’s also irrelevant. Now come with or I will pick you up and carry you into the shower, yeah?”  
  
Xander skirted around the bed and moved toward Spike. However, Xander did not take Spike’s hand. Instead, he quickly moved past Spike and dashed into the small bathroom. Spike chuckled, shook his head and followed his stubborn boy.  
  
Spike motioned Xander into the shower first and then followed. The stall was small to being with and with both men inside it was pretty much cramped. Spike flipped the cyle on and shoved Xander under the water wetting him thoroughly.  
  
“You know I have been doing this on my own since I was five,” Xander said as he looked angrily at Spike.  
  
“Well when you learn to act at least that old, I’ll let you shower by yourself again,” Spike said as he got a handful of soap. “Now turn around.”  
  
Some part of Xander thought turning his back on Spike was a really bad idea but the other part knew fighting with Spike would probably only get him bound helpless back on the bed. Xander quickly turned around before Little Xander could show how happy he was with that idea.  
  
Spike soaped Xander’s hair and then began to scrub. Spike’s long and strong fingers moved over Xander’s scalp and through his thick hair. Spke made little circles on Xander’s scalp and Xander found himself leaning his head forward giving Spike more access to the back of Xander’s head and neck. Spike continued with the scalp massage for a little while before beginning to soap and rub down the rest of Xander’s body.  
  
Slowly Xander could feel his tension unwind under Spike’s firm but relaxing touch. Some of the tension briefly returned when Spike’s hands circled around Xander’s waist and moved low towards the half asleep Little Xander. However, Spike’s touch was clinical and Little Xander barely twitched. Xander nearly jumped out of his skin though, when he felt Spike part and cleanse the cleft between Xander’s ass cheeks, but once again Spike’s touch was clinical.  
  
Finally when Xander was thoroughly scrubbed Spiked stepped back away from Xander and said, “Rinse.” Xander did. He took nearly all the time left in cycle thoroughly rinsing every where Spike had soaped him even parting his own cheeks to let the water sluice through.  
  
Spike thought it had been torture earlier to soap his boy while trying to defuse the tension in him. However, Spike nearly moaned as he watched Xander rinse himself. When Xander parted his cheeks to rinse the hidden places there, Spike wanted to drop to his knees, grab those firm globes, part them and then dive his tongue into Xander’s puckered hole until the boy screamed and bucked and came hard all over the shower.  
  
Instead Spike had spun around so his back was to Xander and thought of his early days of service to Quentin Travers. The memories of the man’s pale flabby body pounding into Spike quickly cooled Spike’s arousal and kept him from tumbling over the edge or doing anything he’d regret.  
  
The shower cycle turned off the dryers began. Both men stood and let the dryers work the water off their bodies. The process also aided in bringing them down from their sensual high.  
  
“Right,” Spike said as the dryers finally ended. “Time for bed, pet.”  
  
Spike stepped out of the shower and Xander followed. The men moved into the bedroom and Xander meant to move on to the sitting area.  
  
“Oi!” Spike said. “Where do you think you are goin’?”  
  
“Well I thought the couch,” Xander said. “But I guess I lost that privilege too?”  
  
Xander went to grab the small blanket so he could curl up on the floor only to have Spike catch his wrist.  
  
“On the bed, pet,” Spike said.  
  
“What?” asked Xander.  
  
“You heard me,” answered Spike. “You lost the privilege of sleeping alone. Now up on the bed.”  
  
 _Oh this is SOOO not good,_ Xander thought. Little Xander thought it had potential.  
  
“Xander,” Spike said softly, “You can either get up there on your own or I can throw you.”  
  
“I hate you,” Xander said as he climbed up on the bed. Spike smiled and climbed up after Xander.  
  
“Now,” Spike ordered, “roll on to your stomach.”  
  
Xander stared at Spike. _You have got to be kidding!_ He thought.  
  
Spike made a little swirling motion with his finger indicating once again the clear order for Xander to roll on to his stomach. Xander groaned and lay on his stomach.  
  
“Close your eye, pet,” Spike said as he put his hands on Xander’s shoulders and rubbed.  
  
 _I give up,_ Xander thought and closed his eye. Xander was once again too tired to fight any more.  
  
Spike smiled and then really began to add pressure to his rubbing. Slowly Spike circled his thumbs into Xander’s flesh until he could feel the muscles in his boy’s back unknot and Xander groaned with pleasure.  
  
Over and over Spike smoothed and stroked Xander’s knotted flesh until his boy was relaxed and breathing deeply. Spike marveled at the feel of his boy and the sight of his boys flesh rolling under Spike’s hands like dough. Spike was careful of all the bruised spots; though he couldn’t stop the rush of rage when he saw them. _NO ONE hurts my boy,_ Spike thought.  
  
Eventually Xander’s breathing grew even more deep and even until Spike knew Xander was on the cusp of sleep. Spike ceased his massaging, reached for the blanket, lay down and covered him and his boy.  
  
“Lights,” Spike said softly and then curled up next to his boy throwing an arm and a leg over him.  
  


**TBC**


	12. (12/43 plus Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lt. “Xander” Harris and Captain William the Bloody have both suffered and lost in the on going war between the Biogens and Council. Now, Xander finds himself a prisoner of Captain William the Bloody (aka Spike). What will be Xander’s fate?

_Eventually Xander’s breathing grew even more deep and even until Spike knew he was on the cusp of sleep. Spike ceased his massaging, reached for the blanket, lay down and covered him and his boy.  
  
“Lights,” Spike said softly and then curled up next to his boy throwing an arm and a leg over him._

_***************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************  
  
_ Xander stared at the familiar surroundings. _I don’t want to be here_ , his mind screamed. Xander looked around. Everything was still the same. The two corridors stretched out before him. Down the right led to the control room of the relay station and the left led to the storage and living area.  
  
“Doesn’t this get old?” a voice asked from behind Xander.   
  
“Jesse!” Xander shouted in surprise and turned to stare at the man behind him. Jesse’s tall and lanky form with his short dark hair and thick dark eye brows sent Xander’s heart racing. Though for the first time Xander could remember his heart raced only in joy at seeing his friend; not with desire.  
  
Jesse smiled at Xander and moved forward. Then Xander remembered where they were.  
  
“Jess,” Xander said, “this isn’t good. We need to leave here.”  
  
“Xan,” Jess replied, “this is the only place you ever let me be.”   
  
Jess then began to move off toward the right corridor.  
  
“NO!” Xander screamed. “Don’t! Let’s stay together. Hey, even better, let’s get out of here.”  
  
Jess smiled at Xander. “Bud, we would if we could.”  
  
Jess continued to move off. Xander rushed after him and grabbed his arm.  
  
“Please, Jess,” he said. “Don’t go.”  
  
Jesse stopped and looked at Xander.  
  
“It won’t change anything,” he sighed.  
  
“I know, I just…”  
  
Jesse reached out and put a hand on Xander’s shoulder and then slid it up to touch Xander’s face and calmly traced Xander’s eye patch. Xander turned his face into the touch.  
  
“Even in your dreams…,” Jess whispered.  
  
Xander nodded.  
  
 _“…Lt. Xander LaVelle Harris…”_ echoed slightly down from the left corridor.

  
“You have to stop this, Xander,” Jesse said.  
  
“I try, Jess! I try! Over and over I try and it never changes! It alwa…,” Xander began to cry.  
  
Jess reached forward and hugged Xander to him kissing the soft hair above Xander’s ear.  
  
 _“…Caleb…unarmed….back home…,”_ another warm voice drawled and filtered down from the right corridor.  
  
“Xander,” Jess whispered into Xander’s ear as he held the shaking man. “I mean _this_. This self torture.”  
  
“I deserve it,” Xander mumbled into Jesse’s neck.  
  
Jesse pulled back slightly and took Xander’s head in his hands. He tilted Xander’s head up to meet his gaze.  
  
“No you don’t,” Jess said. “I forgive you.”  
  
Xander laughed bitterly.  
  
“You’re my dream Jesse; of course you’d say that.”  
  
“Maybe,” argued Jesse, “But don’t you think the real Jesse would forgive you too?”  
  
“The real Jesse’s dead!” Xander snarled as he tried to pull away. Jesse held strong.  
  
“Yes he is,” Jesse said. “But he loved you…”  
  
Xander snorted.  
  
“He did Xander. Maybe not the way you wanted and needed but he did love you the best way he could. You were his best friend. Did you ever wonder if maybe Jesse wished he could give you what you wanted? Did you ever think he might carry his own hurt that he couldn’t?”  
  
“Don’t,” whispered Xander.  
  
 _“If thine eye offends me…,”_ Caleb’s voice once again echoed out of the right corridor, _“…pluck it out!”_  
  
A blood curdling scream ripped through the station. Jesse grabbed Xander and held him close. His hands carded through Xander’s hair as he Xander began to whimper and cry.   
  
“Shhh! Xander,” Jesse soothed the trembling man. “I got ya. I got ya, pet.”  
  
Xander looked up suddenly at the word “pet”. Jesse’s face and body changed and it was Spike holding him and soothing him.   
  
“No,” Xander said as he tried to struggle.  
  
“XAAAAANDEERR!” Jesse’s voice came roaring down the left corridor quickly followed by Jesse himself.  
  
Xander turned in Spike’s arms. “Jesse! Don’t!” he screamed.  
  
Spike wrapped his arms around Xander and held him firmly. He placed small kisses down Xander’s neck.  
  
“It’s ok, pet. You’re ok. I got ya. I got ya, pet,” Spike soothed and he held Xander firm.  
  
Jesse went tearing down the right corridor. He was shouting into his communicator, “This is Captain Jesse McNally; requesting IMMEDIATE back-up and a med-crash unit. Stat!”  
  
“Oh God! Jesse,” Xander cried and whimpered. “Please don’t! Don’t! Spike! Please! Let me go! I gotta stop him!”  
  
Spike continued his soothing litany while keeping Xander pressed firmly close to him. There was a sound of a scuffle and then another horrible scream of agony. This time it was Jesse’s.”  
  
 _“…he really doesn’t have a heart…,”_ Caleb’s voice echoed.   
  
Then the room began to fill with arriving Initiative back-up and Xander’s horrible screams. Xander collapsed in Spike’s arms sobbing Jesse’s name. Xander woke up in the same position.  
  
***  
Xander’s tear-filled eye flew open and he felt Spike wrapped around Xander’s sweat slicked body. Spike’s arms were holding Xander tight and Spike was pressing tiny kisses all along Xander’s neck.   
  
Over and over Spike kept saying, “Shhh! Pet. I got ya. It’s ok, Xan. It’s ok, pet. I got ya.”  
  
Xander stiffened. He didn’t want this. He didn’t want a fuckin’ soulless Biogen offering up something it could never understand; compassion.  
  
“Let me go,” Xander said icily.  
  
Spike froze but kept his hold on Xander.   
  
“You awake?” Spike asked softly.  
  
“I’m awake and I want you to fucking let me go!” Xander shouted at the end.  
  
Slowly Spike retracted his arms and rolled slightly away from Xander. The moment Xander was free he was off the bed and on the other side of the room from Spike. Spike sat up and watched Xander.   
  
“You wanna talk about it, pet?” Spike asked and then said, “Lights.”  
  
“No I don’t want to talk about it!” yelled Xander. “I want you to fuckin’ leave me alone! I want you to stop touching me! I want to sleep in the other room or anywhere that takes me away from you and I especially want you to stop calling me your fuckin’ ‘pet’!”  
  
Spike got off the bed and moved in front of the bedroom hatch; blocking off the entrance.   
  
“You’re not going anywhere, Xander,” Spike said softly.  
  
“I hate you!” Xander shouted. “Don’t you get it? I just don’t fuckin’ like you! I HATE you! Do you get off trying to seduce someone that wants you dead?”  
  
Spike actually winced. His boy’s words hurt more than Spike realized they would. Still, he pressed on. _This wound’s been festerin’ long enough and it’s goin’ ta get drained one way or another,_ Spike thought.   
  
“Is it really me you hate, Xander or another Biogen?” Spike asked.  
  
Xander gasped and his eye narrowed. “Is there a fuckin’ difference? Didn’t you all pretty much come from the same soup? Weren’t your nanonites pretty much mass produced from the same factory?”  
  
 _Different tack then,_ Spike thought.  
  
“What happened to Jesse?” Spike asked.  
  
Xander hissed, “Don’t you _dare_ say his name!”  
  
“Why not, pet?” Spike deliberately pressed. “What’s so sacred about the name Jesse?”  
  
“Stop it!” snarled Xander.  
  
“Why are you constantly martyring yourself to his name, pet?” again Spike poked.  
  
“I’m warning you, Spike! Shut up!”  
  
“C’mon, pet, who is Jesse? Tell me. So I too can share in the worship of the great Jesse, Jesse, Jesse…”  
  
Xander snarled and charged at Spike; ignoring the possibility the chip may fire if he actually tried to hurt Spike. Quickly Spike side-stepped the rushing man, swung his arm out to clothes line Xander in the stomach and then knocked his enraged boy back on to the bed.   
  
The force of colliding with Spike’s out stretched arm knocked the air out of Xander and when he landed on his back on the bed it took more than a moment for his body to figure out how to get air back into his lungs. Spike took advantage of those moments to pounce on his boy and pin him down with his hands above his head and his Spike’s weight firmly holding his boy’s legs still.  
  
“What. Happened. To. Jesse?” Spike asked very slowly and very softly.   
  
Xander stared up at Spike with hate and frustration burning in his one eye.  
  
“Go to hell!” snarled Xander.  
  
Spike sighed. “Ok, so much for the nice way, pet.”   
  
Spike quickly moved off of Xander and before Xander could move or roll off the bed Spike had grabbed him by the upper arms and was hauling him up toward the head of the bed. Xander realized what Spike was about to do and began to struggle. It did him very little good as once again he felt the collar being attached to the restraint.   
  
Spike then grabbed Xander’s at hands and cuffed them one by one back to the restraints.  
  
“NO! Stop Spike! Please! Stop!” Xander began to scream as Spike was now moving down to shackle Xander’s legs.  
  
Once again Xander was bound and stretched out naked on Spike. Xander jerked and screamed.  
“You sick asshole! You blond butchering freak! Is this how you get your jollies, huh?!”  
  
Spike moved away from the bed and into the washroom. He wet down a rag and came back into the bed room and sat down near Xander.  
  
“Are you done, pet?” Spike asked softly.   
  
“Fuck you, Spike! You murdering soulless piece of filth! You’re nothing but a thing! A heartless thing that tortures and maims and…”  
  
“Right,” Spike said as he draped the wet washcloth over Xander’s forehead. Then he got up and moved to the bedroom hatch.   
  
“Lights,” Spike ordered, stepped through the hatchway, closed the hatchway door and then poured himself a tall whiskey.   
  
Spike sat on the couch nursing his whiskey for a long while Xander ranted and raved. When the insults came less and the sobs more Spike finished his drink, poured a glass of water from the bar and moved back toward the bedroom hatch. He opened the door.  
  
“Lights,” Spike softly called. A puffy and red-rimmed brown eye swiveled Spike’s way.   
  
“I really hate you, “ Xander softly whispered.   
  
“Be that as it may, pet,” Spike answered. “Are you ready to talk to me now?”  
  
Xander nodded as much as the collar restraint would allow. Spike moved forward and set the glass of water on the table. He then went and picked up the now warm and moist cloth from Xander’s forehead. Spike went into the bathroom, rewet it, and came back out. Gently he wiped down Xander’s flushed and tear stained cheek. Every now and then a new tear would leak out and Spike would wipe it away too.   
  
Then Spike undid the collar restraint but left Xander’s hands bound. Spike set aside the cloth and retrieved the glass of water from the dresser. Spike moved back the bed and used one hand to support the back of Xander’s head while the other guided the glass to Xander’s lips.  
  
“Just water, pet,” Spike said. “You need some after a fit like that.”  
  
Xander was thirsty and so he did begin to sip at the cool water. It felt wonderful going down his raw and hoarse throat.   
  
Once Xander drank about half the water, Spike pulled the glass away and lay Xander’s head back down. Spike put the glass back down on the dresser and then stretched out on the bed along side Xander. Spike stretched out on his side propping his head on his elbow. He had one hand free to pet his boy if he needed to and could look his boy in the eye.   
  
“Now, pet” Spike said. Xander turned his unrestrained head to look at Spike. “You will tell me about your mate Jesse. If you start another fit, I’ll bundle you all back up good and proper again and leave ya till ya calm down just like before. I can do this as long as it takes. Do you understand?”  
  
Xander nodded. He didn’t want to talk to Spike but Xander knew he just couldn’t do this anymore. Xander was so wrung out. Xander really had no choice and he knew Spike meant what he said.   
  
Xander stared at Spike. Spike stared back and then reached out a hand to Xander. Tenderly Spike began to card his fingers through Xander’s hair as he waited for his boy to speak. Spike played with one lock that he kept tucking and re-tucking behind Xander’s ear. Xander just watched Spike.  
  
“Longer hair would suit ya, pet,” Spike whispered.  
  
For some reason Xander didn’t understand the comment made him smile. Spike took advantage of the smile and abandoned Xander’s hair to trace that smile with Spike’s fingers. He loved the soft feel of his pet’s lips. Then Spike resumed petting Xander; running his fingers through the rich dark hair.  
  
“Tell me about Jesse, pet,” Spike softly asked.  
  
“Jess,” Xander sighed. “Jess was my best friend. I loved him. I really loved him. We grew up together. He was everything I wasn’t. He was quick, graceful, and comfortable with himself.

Willow, he and I, we were just this unstoppable trio. Why they needed me around sometimes I’ll never know, but I’m glad they did.”  
  
Xander paused. Spike remained silent just watching and petting his boy.  
  
“Mostly Wills and Jess had Initiative aptitude but somehow they made sure my scores were passable and we got assigned together to work with Buffy.”  
  
Spike nodded.  
  
“Things just evolved quickly after that. Wills got jacks and became a Cybermage and Jesse,” Xander smiled. “Well Jesse probably got in more trouble then I. But his screw ups were on purpose and usually resulted in a successful outcome. Didn’t take long for him to get promoted to Captain and become Buff’s right hand man. Her primary back-up.”  
  
Xander paused. Spike brushed a thumb over Xander’s left eye brow.  
  
“I mostly helped with research, weapons inventory and fetch and carry. But hey I was allowed in all the meetings and got to be with my friends. It was a good life.”  
  
“So wot happened?” Spike whispered as he continued to smooth the flesh around Xander’s sunken eye socket.  
  
“I missed Jess.” Xander replied. “I mean we just never had any ‘us’ time. Any guy time. Especially after the Faith incident. Jess was more withdrawn and more hardcore. Whatever discipline he’d received from the Council changed him and he was more work then play. It was wrong of me, I know but I was hurt. I wanted my friend back. I know that he never cared for me the way I did for him or wanted from me what I wanted from him but…”  
  
Xander trailed off. A small tear trickled from his right eye. Spike softly scooped it away.  
  
“Anyway,” Xander continued, “there was this report of a Council stat, relay station, malfunctioning. They’re routine reports. Stats are usually unmanned most of the time. They’re on auto run. They do have life-support and supplies for when techs need to stay or the odd Council ship comes by but for the most part they just run and every now and then a glitch happen and there’s a malfunction and someone needs to go out and look at them. Happens all the time. Protocol is to send a small squad out led by a two man recon unit.”  
  
Xander turned his head and began to jerk against the bounds. “Spike, please let me loose.”  
  
“No, pet,” Spike said softly but firmly as he removed his hand from his boy, “I tried it the other way first and you didn’t want to play. We’re doing it this way now.”  
  
Xander began to struggle a little harder. “Spike please! I just…I can’t…I need…”  
  
“Wot do you need, Xander?” Spike asked.  
  
‘I need to outta these damn things!” Xander shouted and jerked.  
  
Spike started to stroke Xander’s stomach with long tender caresses. He leaned over his boy and began planting little kisses around his nipple and down his rib cage.   
  
Xander’s breathing grew erratic and his struggles interspersed.  
  
“Tell me,” Spike said between kisses, “wot happened at the relay station, pet.”  
  
Xander lay still for a moment gasping and feeling Spike caress and kiss him.  
  
Xander stared up at the ceiling and swallowed. It felt like he was splitting in two. Part of him was bound and nude on Spike’s bed; lying there being kissed and stroked by Spike. The other part of Xander was back on the relay station watching events from a year ago.  
  
‘I convinced Jesse,” Xander began in flat tone, “that we should take on that mission. It would be routine and he and I could just have some hang time without the girls. He agreed and off we went. We would do the two man recon sweep of the station and if everything checked out, like it usually did, we’d leave the techs behind to repair the thing and off we’d go back to the ‘Dale; back to catching up with the girls at the Bronze.”  
  
Xander paused a moment as if he were dusting off long buried files. Spike continued to pet, kiss and suckle his pet as necessary.  
  
“We arrived and as planned Jess and I took the recon pass. Jess went to check out the control room and I went to check out the storage and living area. I never knew what Jess found in the control room but me? I found a man…a hurt looking man in the living area. He looked afraid. He showed me his bleeding arm. Said, ‘Please don’t hurt me, son.’ “  
  
Xander swallowed.  
  
“At first I couldn’t figure out why he thought I’d hurt him…and then…then I knew. He was a Biogen! He was a fuckin soulless Biogen!”  
  
Tears began to fall from Xander’s eye. Spike abandoned kissing Xander’s side so he could nuzzle and lick away the salty liquid.  
  
“I pulled my weapon and went to call for back-up. Protocol says…you encounter a Biogen…you call for back-up. But he just looked at me with these hurt brown eyes and he said, ‘Please son. I know you’re just doing your job but I’m hurt and I’m unarmed. I’m not a threat to ya. I just was looking for a bit food. I had some problems with my ship. It’s on the underside of the station. Used the sensors to camouflage it. It’s fixed now and I’ll I want is just some scraps here and I’m gone.’”  
  
Xander tried to kick his legs. Spike whispered,”Shhhh,” and carded his fingers through Xander’s hair.  
  
“I don’t know why I listened to him…but he looked helpless and he was bleeding blood. Red blood! I don’t know why but I always thought Biogens would bleed differently. I just stood there looking at him. And he just kept talking and smiling. Kept telling me he and most Biogens were harmless. They just wanted to be free to live their lives. That wasn’t wrong was it? Didn’t I just want to live my life? I identified myself. He told me his name. I knew I should have called for back-up. I knew I should have yelled for Jesse but he just seemed so harmless. Kept repeating he was unarmed and just wanted to go home. Then he smiled and that’s when I realized how close he’d gotten to me. I said, ‘Please step back.’ Before I knew it he’d grabbed my gun and jerked it away from me!”  
  
Xander’s eye was wide now and his tears were a steady stream. Spike continued to nuzzle and pet Xander. Spike threw his leg across Xander’s and pulled himself tighter to his boy.  
  
“Then he grabbed me and suddenly he wasn’t so harmless any more. He laughed and he looked me up and down. He called me a ‘Council meat sack’. Said he’d been done with them a long time ago. Said he didn’t serve the Council any more and then…and then …Oh God Spike!”  
  
Spike gripped his boy hard. Xander closed his eye.  
  
“He said he didn’t like the way I looked at him! He said my eye offended him and he was going to pluck it out!”  
  
Xander was sobbing now. Spike continued to hold on to and touch Xander.  
  
“He stuck his thumb in my left eye and he just…just scooped it out Spike! He just scooped out my fuckin’ eye like it was nothing! I screamed! I screamed…and then the next thing I knew …Caleb…,”  
  
 _Caleb?_ Spike recognized the name. _Screw Angel’s rules,_ Spike vowed, _Caleb’s dead when I find him._   
  
“…Jesse was there ordering Caleb to let me go but he threatened to snap my neck. Told Jesse to put down his gun. I don’t remember if I begged Jesse not to do it. I hope I did. But it doesn’t matter cuz Jesse did! He put down his fuckin’ gun, kicked it away and the next thing I know Caleb’s throwing me against the wall. He and Jesse are fighting. I’m trying to sit up. My head is screaming in pain. I’m trying to focus…to see…and it’s so hard, Spike! But I do make it only to see Jesse’s hurt and bleeding and Caleb’s got him and then Caleb’s lookin’ at me and smiles…he fuckin’ smiles and he says, ‘you, you’re all heart son’ and then…”  
  
Xander’s was jerking and arching off the bed as hard as he could. Spike was holding him tight nuzzling him as best he could.   
  
“…Then…he jammed his fist right into Jesse’s chest…grabbed….OH GOD! SPIKE HE RIPPED OUT JESSE’S HEART!” Xander sobbed.  
  
Spike kissed, petted and licked his boy. Spike swore, _Caleb’s dead. There won’t be a trial or evidence or the need to prove he broke Angel’s sodding rules. He’s just dead._  
  
“And…and you know what he said Spike? Huh? You know what he said? He said ‘this one he really doesn’t have a heart,’ and he threw Jesse’s body at me. Then there was the sound of back-up arriving. Caleb looked at me and laughed. Said it was my lucky day and that we’d finish later and he left….he still had Jesse’s heart, Spike…he still had Jesse’s heart…”  
  
Xander was now lying flat on the bed with his head turned toward Spike. He was sobbing.  
  
“I couldn’t tell them where Caleb went…I didn’t…couldn’t see…all I could do was hold Jesse’s cooling body..I couldn’t tell them why I broke protocol..if I’d followed protocol…maybe I’d be dead..but Jesse..Jesse…Spike it’s all my fault…he’s dead…I loved him…he was my best friend and he’s dead cuz I trusted a fuckin’ soulless Biogen.”  
  
Spike rained kisses down on his boys face. He licked tears away and thanked what ever omniscient beings were listening that Xander hadn’t followed protocol; that Xander was alive.  
  
“There was an inquiry and…they reassigned me to be ‘diplomatic liason’…under Captain Riley…it’s a joke job..and it takes me away from Buffy and Wills and…then…then you….the _DeSoto_ …you…”  
  
“Yeah, me, pet,” Spike said softly.  
  
Xander opened his eye to stare at Spike through a wash of tears.  
  
“Make me forget,” Xander whispered and pleaded, “Please, Spike. Beat me, kiss me, kill me…just make me forget.”  
  
Spike swept his gaze over Xander's face as if it were a treasure he’d been searching for all his life and had finally found. Then Spike fixed his gaze back on Xander’s pleading chocolate eye. Spike smiled, leaned forward and murmured against Xander’s trembling lips, “I’ll take option number two, pet.”  
  
 **TBC**


	13. (13/43 plus Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lt. “Xander” Harris and Captain William the Bloody have both suffered and lost in the on going war between the Biogens and Council. Now, Xander finds himself a prisoner of Captain William the Bloody (aka Spike). What will be Xander’s fate?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always: Feedback makes my heart go pitter-patter.

__“Make me forget,” Xander whispered and pleaded, “Please, Spike. Beat me, kiss me, kill me…just make me forget.”__  
  
Spike swept his gaze over Xander face as if it were a treasure he’d been searching for all his life and had finally found. Then Spike fixed his gaze back on Xander’s pleading chocolate eye. Spike smiled, leaned forward and murmured against Xander’s trembling lips, “I’ll take option number two, pet.” 

***************************************************************************************************************************************************  
  
Xander’s mouth opened in complete submission to Spike’s. Spike took advantage of that submission and plundered Xander’s mouth. Spike’s tongue swept in and lay claim to the soft flesh inside. It traveled over the roof of Xander’s mouth, down the slick insides of his cheeks and then rubbed like a cat against Xander’s tongue.  
  
Xander’s heart was pounding and he was struggling to breath. Spike lifted his head.  
  
“No,” moaned Xander in protest.  
  
“Shhh, pet,” Spike admonished as he leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on Xander’s lips before peppering his boy’s face with more gentle kisses. Then Spike hovered above Xander’s left eye. Very slowly he lowered his head and began to lave the eye with long seductive licks and tender kisses.  
  
Once again tears began to stream from Xander’s good eye. Over and over Spike ministered to Xander’s bad eye until he thought his pet finally got the point; there was no part of Xander Spike didn’t want to taste or to own.  
  
Spike then left kissing Xander’s bad eye to begin kissing and licking away the tears from the good eye. “Enough now,” Spike whispered against the wet cheek. “No more crying, yeah?”  
  
Then Spike reached to undo Xander’s hand restraints. Xander stiffened.  
  
“No, Spike!” he pleaded. “Make me!”  
  
Spike put a hand over Xander’s mouth.  
  
“Look at me, pet,” he ordered.  
  
Xander did.  
  
“I know what you need. I know what you want. You don’t want to have any choice. You don’t want to have any control. You don’t want to be responsible. You just want to forget.”  
  
Xander nodded.  
  
“I’m going ta give ya that, pet. I promise. But you have to listen to me. You have to do what I say. That’s all you have to do, pet. Just do your best to do what I say and I promise I’ll make ya forget. I’ll make everything go away.”  
  
Xander just stared at Spike for a moment and then gave another little nod.  
  
“That’s good, Xander,” Spike said. “That’s perfect pet. Now I want you to just lie still while I untie your hands and legs. Don’t move, pet.”  
  
Spike removed his hand from Xander’s mouth. Xander stared at Spike, breathed deeply but didn’t move. Spike smiled down at him taking the opportunity to let his gaze sweep down the entire length of Xander’s body and only briefly settling on the long heavy cock that was beginning to stir.  
  
“You’re lovely, pet. You’re perfect and you’re lovely,” Spike said and then he untied Xander’s hands.  
  
Spike moved down Xander’s body and unshackled his legs. Spike then moved up to sit between his boy’s legs. He stroked Xander’s thighs as he thought. His boy needed release but he was too fragile for anything strenuous and though Spike just wanted to bury himself completely in his boy he knew it wasn’t the time to pop his boy’s cherry. When he opened his boy up the first time; it had to be right.  
  
Spike also knew it was important his boy felt connected. He couldn’t let Xander reach oblivion alone.  
  
 _Right, first things first,_ Spike thought.  
  
“Pet, you don’t have to be quiet,” Spike said softly. “Fact is, sometimes I love that annoyin’ mouth of yours. Makes me laugh. So if ya feel good, let me hear ya.”  
  
Then Spike leaned forward and nuzzled his boy’s sweet smelling cock. Tenderly Spike poked and stroked Little Xander with nothing more than the tip of Spike’s nose. Immediately Little Xander started to respond. Spike took long deep inhales of his boy’s scent. _MINE_ roared through Spike at a primitive level.  
  
When Xander began to make tentative little restless moans Spike smiled. Then he began to take little licks at Xander’s cock. Spike groaned. Already he could taste the salty flavor of his boy and it made him hard.  
  
Xander’s cock continued to twitch and fill rapidly to its full length with each delicate lick. Spike propped himself up over the dancing cock but kept his hands to either side of Xander. Spike teased Xander’s shaft with short quick licks and then long wet licks but Spike avoided touching Xander’s crown.  
  
Spike’s pet began to moan in earnest.  
  
“Spike,” Xander whispered.  
  
“I’m here, pet,” Spike answered before he changed tactics and began to feast and nibble on Xander’s balls. Xander screamed and arched off the bed. Spike chuckled.  
  
“No moving, pet” Spike gently ordered. Xander panted and lay back down on the bed.  
  
Spike returned to his feast. First he sucked one ball into his mouth and gently rolled and laved it with his tongue. He could hear his boy’s frantic gasps now. Spike very gently began to suck the ball back and forth between his teeth putting the tiniest bit of pressure on his special treat.  
  
Xander began to pant and moan, “Oh God..Spike…Fuck Spike!”  
  
Spike let the ball go with a loud “pop.”  
  
“Maybe someday, pet,” Spike said. “If you’re really good.”  
  
Then Spike repeated the process to Xander’s second testicle. Xander was now thrashing his head back and forth chanting, “Please..please…please.”  
  
Spike stilled.  
  
“Pet,” Spike ordered, “lie still.”  
  
Spike then waited until his boy calmed down and was motionless except for his heavy breathing.  
  
“Spike!” Xander said. “Please!”  
  
“When I’m ready,” Spike said. “Now you were moving and you weren’t supposed to were you, pet?”  
  
“Spike?” Xander whimpered.  
  
“Pet?”  Spike asked again.  
  
“No,” Xander answered.  
  
“What happens when you disobey an order, Xander?” Spike asked.  
  
Xander panicked for a moment. Spike heard the change in heart rate and caught the scent of fear in the air.  
  
“Pet, it’s me. It’s Spike. Have I ever really hurt you?”  
  
“No,” Xander admitted.  
  
“What happens when you disobey an order?”  Spike repeated the question.  
  
“You get punished,” Xander said.  
  
“Right, pet,” Spike smiled. “So now here’s your punishment. I want you to prop yourself up on your elbows and I want you to watch me.”  
  
“Spike?” Xander questioned.  
  
“Pet, just prop yourself up,” Spike repeated.  
  
Xander slowly sat up and propped himself up on his elbows. He looked down to see Spike kneeling between his legs with his head propped over his cock. Xander groaned and precum started leaking down the side of Little Xander.  
  
‘Now, pet,” Spike said pinning Xander with Spike fierce blue eyes. “You are not to move, you are not to thrust, you are only to watch and under NO circumstances are you allowed to cum. Do you understand?”  
  
Xander nodded.  
  
“Say it, pet,” Spike ordered.  
  
“I’m not to move, I’m not…uhm to thrust and I can’t cum,” Xander panted.  
  
Spike nodded and smiled.  
  
“Good, pet. Remember, you are to watch me. Do not close your eye!”  
  
With that final order issued Spike then swooped down and enveloped Xander’s cock in his mouth.  Spike relaxed his throat, swallowed Xander completely and let his tongue wipe at the precum.  
  
Xander screamed and used everything in him not to thrust it into that warm casing. Xander panted and moaned. _This is Spike! Spike is swallowing me down!_ Xander thought. _No one, not even Anya swallowed my entire length in their mouth and ….OH GOD I want to cum! I want to cum!_  
  
“Spike please!!!! Please…please!” Xander chanted as Spike did the worst thing possible and began to suck. “SPIKE! SPIKE!”  
  
Spike loved the taste, the smell and the sound of his boy. He was in heaven. Spike senses were flooded with Xander and he knew this was only the beginning. This is all Spike wanted was to have his boy spread out before him hot and willing. Spike wanted all of Xander; every drop and every sound.  
  
Slowly Spike pulled back. Tonight wasn’t the night to play the game where he made the boy disobey orders. That would be for another time. Spike smiled. _Oh and then the things I’m going ta do ta punish ya, pet!_ Spike wickedly thought.  
  
Spike sat back and watched Xander fight for control. It was beautiful watching the way his boy fought to breathe and to keep still all at the same time. As ordered though, Xander’s eye was on Spike. Spike slowly licked his lips and watched Xander nearly come undone again; thick precum was once again dribbling down Xander’s lovely cock.  
  
“What are you thinking about pet?” Spike asked seductively once Xander appeared to be calmer.  
  
“What?” Xander whimpered.  
  
“Good!” Spike said and leaned forward and plundered Xander’s mouth. Spike slammed his tongue against Xander’s wanting the boy to taste himself on Spike. Xander groaned and couldn’t help but bite at the flavor of Spike, whiskey and his own cum.  
  
Spike broke the kiss and smiled. “Lie down,” Spike quietly ordered.  
  
Xander complied and lay down. He kept his gaze firmly fixed on Spike. Spike smiled at him. Xander gave a tentative smile back.  
  
Spike moved to Xander’s left side and lay down beside him.  
  
“Roll on your side and face me, pet,” Spike said. Xander rolled on his left side and faced Spike.  
  
Spike pulled his boy close so their bodies were pressed together. Xander hissed in pleasure as their hard cocks brushed.  
  
Spike chuckled. “Like that eh, pet?”  
  
“Spike,” Xander groaned.  
  
Spike smiled again and pulled Xander’s right leg forward so it was crooked over Spike’s hip. Spike shifted a bit and now their sweat and precum slicked cocks were lined to slide and rub against one another.  
  
On instinct Xander started to thrust only to have Spike quickly still his movements with a powerful grasp on his hips.  
  
“Spike?” Xander gasped.  
  
“Here’s the rules, pet,” Spike said. “You thrust when I thrust and you don’t cum until I say so. Got it?”  
  
“Please!” Xander moaned and stared at his blonde lover and tormentor.  
  
“Got it?” Spike asked again.  
  
“Yes!” Xander finally said desperate for the release Spike promised.  
  
“Now,” Spike said. “Put your hand on my shoulder.”  
  
Xander did and then Spike smiled. Slowly he leaned forward and claimed Xander’s mouth once more. Once again Xander submitted to Spike completely. Spike began to slowly tongue fuck Xander’s mouth. When Xander groaned into Spike, Spike started a gentle thrust against Xander giving Little Xander the delicious friction he’d been craving.  
  
Immediately Xander tried thrusting frantically against Spike only to have Spike grasp Xander’s hips again and to cease thrusting.  
  
“Spiiiike!” pleaded Xander breaking the kiss.  
  
“With me, pet,” Spike insisted. “With me.”  
  
Once again Spike began a seductive kiss matched by a slow thrusting rhythm. Xander whimpered and moaned but followed Spike’s lead. Spike smiled into the kiss, _that’s my sweet boy,_ he thought.  
  
Spike kept up the maddeningly slow thrusting until Xander thought he’d go crazy. He just wanted to cum. He began to whimper and turn his kisses into desperate pleas. Overwhelmed with his need for release, Xander’s nails dug into the flesh of Spike’s shoulders.  
  
Once again Spike withdrew from his kissing. He brought his hand up to Xander’s mouth.  
  
“Open,” he said. Xander opened his mouth. Spike inserted his long index finger.  
  
“Suck,” Spike ordered. Xander narrowed his eye but did as he was told. He was rewarded with a change in Spikes thrusting. Now he was using more powerful and faster thrusts. Xander moaned around Spike’s fingers, increased his thrusts to match Spike’s new tempo and Xander felt his balls tighten. _I’m so close!_ Xander thought.  
  
When Spike thought his finger was thoroughly coated with his boy’s saliva, Spike withdrew his finger from the sweet mouth and snaked his hand down to the cleft of his boy’s ass. Xander froze as he felt Spike’s finger burrow between Xander’s cheeks.  
  
“Spike?” Xander whispered need still lacing his voice.  
  
Spike stilled his thrusts and let his finger burrow until it was right there at Xander’s sweet pucker. Then Spike circled and teased before stroking that ultra sensitive flesh.  
  
“SPIIIIIKKE!” Xander screamed and thrust forward nearly cumming.  
  
Spike held perfectly still. Xander panted, writhed and fought for control. Eventually he too stilled and his eye fixed on Spike.  
  
“Spike, please,” Xander begged. “I can’t take t…please..please….”  
  
“Who are you?” Spike asked.  
  
“What?” Xander cried.  
  
“Who are you?” Spike repeated.  
  
“I’m Xander!”  
  
Spike shook his head.  
  
“I can’t Spike!” Xander thought frantically. “Lt. Harris!”  
  
Spike arched an eyebrow.  
  
“Spike please! Please fuck me!” Xander begged.  
  
“Who are you?” Spike quietly asked again.  
  
Xander looked at Spike searching his star blue eyes for an answer.  
  
“Spike,” Xander whimpered and then Xander knew. He knew the answer. “Spike I…”  
  
Xander faltered. Need was thrumming through him. He was right on the edge. He was burning and Spike would take him over. All Xander had to do was answer the question. All he had to do was make a choice.  
  
“I’m your pet,” Xander finally whispered. Spike gave Xander the most beautiful smile Xander had ever seen and then Xander lost all ability to think.  
  
Spike began to pound and thrust into him while stroking Xander’s sensitive hole at the same time. Xander arched and bucked. He screamed and was lost to the sensation. Vaguely Xander registered Spike saying something to him.  
  
“Cum for me, pet,” Spike said. “Cum for me,”  
  
Xander did. He spurted thick hot strands on Spike’s stomach. At the feel and smell of his boy’s hot seed spurting, Spike felt his own release take hold. Spike’s own love juices began to coat his boy and their cum began to mix as their bodies thrust, rubbed and pressed together. Spike’s face shifted and he bit down on his boy’s shoulder.  
  
Xander barely registered the pain of the bite. All he knew was the most powerful release he’d ever experienced. He was raw sensation. He clawed at Spike’s shoulder, screamed and as his passion finally spent he found a new oblivion waiting for him. It was warm, safe, peaceful and it smelled of Spike.  
  
Slowly reason returned to Spike. He shifted his face back. Then Spike delicately kissed the slightly bleeding and bruised bite on Xander’s shoulder.  Carefully, Spike lay Xander down. Spike reached for the blanket and covered them. Then Spike lay down. Gently, Spike shifted and rearranged the unconscious Xander so his head rested on Spike’s chest.  
  
“Lights,” Spike said softly. Spike ran his fingers through his boy’s hair. The room smelled of tears and sex. They’d be sticky in the morning but Spike didn’t care. They’d clean up. Spike smiled at the thought of washing his boy clean again.  
  
Spike continued to stroke and pet his exhausted and deeply asleep boy. Spike knew that things were far from rosy with him and Xander. Xander had just needed release and to forget. Spike had given him those things. When Xander woke up it maybe and probably would be a whole new battle.  
  
Spike also knew that Angel was not going to like Spike sleeping with Xander. Spike didn’t know what was going to happen when Xander woke up. Spike didn’t know what was going to happen when they got to Hyperion. What Spike did know was that until Xander Spike hadn’t shared his bed with anyone but Dru.  
  
Oh, Spike had slept with others in his bed. Spike had fucked others in his bed; even Angel. Yet, Spike had never really shared his bed. Spike had never felt the peace and security and the total sense of rightness as he did right now with Xander pressed warm against him. Spike reveled in the feel of Xander’s exhales dancing across Spike’s skin. Spike relished the feel of Xander’s hair slipping through Spike’s fingers and Spike worshipped the scent of his boy filling the room.  
  
No, Spike didn’t know what would happen tomorrow but he did know one thing; Xander was his.

**TBC**


	14. (14/43 plus Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lt. “Xander” Harris and Captain William the Bloody have both suffered and lost in the on going war between the Biogens and Council. Now, Xander finds himself a prisoner of Captain William the Bloody (aka Spike). What will be Xander’s fate?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always: Feedback makes my heart go pitter-patter.

_Oh, Spike had slept with others in his bed. Spike had fucked others in his bed; even Angel. Yet, Spike had never really shared his bed. Spike had never felt the peace and security and the total sense of rightness as he did right now with Xander pressed warm against him. Spike reveled in the feel of Xander’s exhales dancing across Spike’s skin. Spike relished the feel of Xander’s hair slipping through Spike’s fingers and Spike worshipped the scent of his boy filling the room.  
  
No, Spike didn’t know what would happen tomorrow but he did know one thing; Xander was his._

**********************************************************************************************************************  
Spike knew by the change in his pet’s breathing he was waking up. Spike continued to card his fingers through Xander’s hair. The two had slept for a long time; well past the morning chime. Spike had woken up a little while before but he’d been content to lie with his boy stretched out half on top of him and run his fingers through Xander’s hair.

“I still hate you,” Xander muttered sleepily against Spike’s chest.

Spike chuckled. “Never doubted it for a moment, pet.”

Xander lay there with his face pressed to Spike’s chest and his arm draped over Spike’s waist. Xander couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so rested and so contented. _I really do hate him,_ Xander thought with no fire, conviction or malice and just a touch of denied humor.

What Xander really wanted to do was press tiny kisses on the warm chest under him. Xander wanted to turn his head, crawl up Spike’s body and find out if Spike’s kisses were still as amazing the morning after.

“What time is it?” Xander asked still lying snuggled on top of Spike.

“Close to the lunch chime,” Spike said.

“I’m not reporting for KP,” Xander said.

“Oi!” Spike grinned. “You’ll go on report.”

“I don’t care,” Xander replied.

“You’ll be punished,” smirked Spike.

Xander laughed remembering just how he had been punished for disobeying orders the night before. “I’ll take my chances.”

It was Spike’s turn to laugh. “Cheeky pet!”

Xander propped himself up on Spike’s chest and looked at the beautiful Biogen still stroking his fingers through Xander’s hair.

“I’m not a dog or cat,” Xander said quietly.

“Never said you were,” replied Spike as he met Xander’s gaze.

“I’m not your…,” Xander paused. He wanted to deny now what he’d said last night. _I was under duress_ , he argued. _I would have said anything at the moment. It was an unfair dirty trick he pulled._

Spike arched an eyebrow as he waited for Xander to continue.

“That was a rotten trick,” Xander finally said.

Spike smiled. “I’m a big bad Biogen.”

Xander rolled his eye and then pinched Spike. Suddenly Xander tensed and paled! _I tried to hurt Spike!_ Xander waited for the collar to fire.

Spike smelled the fear before he heard the change of heart rate in his boy.

 “Xander,” Spike said,” what’s wrong?”

Xander looked back at Spike. The collar still hadn’t fired. Less pleasant memories from the night before were demanding Xander’s attention. _I charged him last night!_ Xander remembered. _I charged him and the collar didn’t fire! I kicked and thrashed and the fuckin’ collar didn’t fire._

Spike realized the fear was turning into something else but not quickly enough to prepare for the sudden onslaught of a ticked off Xander. Xander was _furious_.

“You told me if I tried to harm anyone on the _DeSoto_ the collar would fire!” yelled Xander as he punched Spike without so much as a twinge from the collar.

“Umph!” Spike uttered. _My pet can throw a punch,_ Spike briefly noted before he grabbed Xander’s arms and managed to flip his boy underneath him.

“What I said,” Spike replied as he pinned a struggling Xander under him, “was the collar would fire if you tried to harm the _crew_ of the _DeSoto_. ‘M not the crew! I’m the captain!”

Xander narrowed his eye and still struggled. “Could you possibly mince your words any finer?”

“If necessary, pet,” Spike replied.

“So what? This is just a game to you?” Xander snarled.

“What?”

“Or were you just so confident I couldn’t hurt you?” Xander managed place a kick into Spike’s side.

“OOOW” roared Spike and then he trapped Xander’s legs with his own. “You little brat!”

“Brat? ‘Council Boy’? Git? Must have been pretty funny watching me tip-toe around you when you never took me as a serious threat,” shouted Xander. “What other names you got? What else you going to call me? This joke? This non-threat?”

“The only one that matters, PET,” Spike snarled. “And believe me, _pet_ , you are probably the most dangerous, as well as annoying, thing I’ve ever brought aboard my ship! I didn’t have Fred set the collar to fire on me because I knew as stupid and as stubborn as you are, _pet,_ you’d probably permanently sizzle your brain while serving as my CM before the end of the first ship cycle!”

“Don’t call me p…,” Spike interrupted Xander by taking possession of Xander’s open mouth. Spike didn’t give Xander a chance to resist; he just swept his tongue inside and reasserted his claim. Xander still struggled but it was a losing battle as Spike possessed and dominated him and Little Xander happily responded.

When Xander ceased to struggle and Little Xander was insistently pressing into Spike’s stomach; Spike broke the kiss and released Xander’s arms. Immediately Xander’s arms snaked around Spike’s shoulder keeping the man pressed close to him.

Xander began pressing hungry kisses to Spike’s throat and then nuzzling behind his ear. Spike all but purred in pleasure.

“You know this doesn’t change anything. I still hate you,” Xander whispered in between kisses. “I’m still Council and you’re still a Biogen.”

Spike took Xander’s head in his hands and held him still as he looked him in the eye. “It changes everything, pet.”

“How?” whispered Xander as he caressed and explored the skin on Spike’s upper back.

“You’re mine, pet,” Spike replied simply.

“You can’t keep me, Spike,” Xander said as he instinctively wrapped his legs around Spike’s waist and began to thrust and rub Little Xander up against Spike’s very impressive silken spike.

“Watch me,” Spike promised as once again he claimed his pet’s troublesome mouth and began to thrust back against Xander in the sinuous dance that would take them both to that sweet place where love and war collided and brought explosive satisfaction.

***  
Afterwards the two men had showered. Spike had insisted washing his boy and Xander relented after protesting. Xander knew he could now fight Spike, but it wouldn’t change the outcome. Spike would get his way. Xander knew, he’d have to pick his battles carefully and honestly it wasn’t that much of a hardship to have Spike soap him all over.

Once the two were clean and dry Spike threw a set of clothes at Xander, but no shoes.

“Remember to apologize,” Spike said.

Xander rolled his eye and got dressed putting his patch back firmly in place. “My feet are going to get cold,” he complained.

“Well maybe that will remind you to keep your feet from wandering where they don’t belong,” Spike replied.

“Bully,” sniped Xander.

“Git,” replied Spike.

Once the two were dressed they headed off for the mess. The arrived only a few minutes after the lunch chime.

“Xander!” Fred happily exclaimed when she saw the young man enter the mess. She rushed over and gave Xander a rib crushing hug. “C’mon! You have to see the new chairs Faith found before we left Oxnard!”

Fred guided Xander to a new and comfortable chair.

“Hey!” shouted Gunn. “Why does he get to sit in one of the new chairs?”

“Cuz I’m just the prisoner who easily escaped from the big bad gun toting guard,” Xander answered. “Not the big bad guard with color-me-embarrassed-on-his-face. Sorry about that.”

Spike groaned. _I’m going to spend an entire night teaching the git how to apologize properly!_ He vowed.

“Don’t push me, Council boy!” growled Gunn.

“Pet,” Spike said and enjoyed the flush that crept up Xander’s face, “You keep egging Charley boy on and I’m going to let him give you your lumps.”

Xander narrowed his eye at Spike. _You wouldn’t!_ He thought.

Spike returned the gaze. _Watch me._ He promised again.

“So, Xander,” Wes interrupted the moment. “How are you feeling this mor…afternoon?”

Xander couldn’t prevent the flush that once again that blazed across his face. “Uhm…fine.”

“Sleep well?” grinned Faith.

Xander shot her a heated look. _Ok does everyone on board know Captain Yummynuts and I did the mattress tango?_

“Yes,” Xander seethed.

“Good,” Faith replied. “Cuz you know, I had a heck of a time sleepin’ last night. Ship was nosier than usual.”

Gunn laughed and Wesley coughed.

“I think one of the engines needs a slight adjustment,” Fred tried to cover.

Spike grinned wickedly.

“You know,” Xander said as he stood up. “I’ve suddenly lost my appetite.”

“Sit, pet!” Spike ordered. Xander glared at Spike.

“You had only one meal yesterday and nothing today. You are starving and don’t pretend otherwise.”

Xander sat and then everyone began passing around the dishes on the table.

“How long until we get to Hyperion?” Spike asked Wes.

“We’ll be there in a couple of days,” Wes replied.

 _Ok,_ Xander thought. _That’s something. Hyperion is two days out from_ _Oxnard_ _._

Spike nodded. “Did we get everything delivered?

“Yep,” replied Faith. “We’re five by five.”

“Any word from Angel?” Spike asked.

“Multiple actually,” replied Wesley.

“Am I going to like any of them?” 

“Well,” Wesley cast a glance at Xander and then back at Spike, “Probably not.”

Spike sighed. _Soddin’ Peaches is goin’ to try and make a hames of this with my pet._

“I suppose I’d better review the messages after lunch,” Spike said.

The rest of the meal passed companionably. Xander stilled flushed slightly whenever Spike called him pet and Spike almost always called Xander pet. Afterwards when the rest of the crew cleared out, Xander took over his KP duties. He wasn’t ready to go back to the cabin which he was certain would still smell of his and Spike’s spent passion.

Xander needed some time to think. He needed a clear head and he knew he wouldn’t have that in the cabin with his hormones in overdrive. If last night hadn’t made that clear, this morning did.

 _Wills,_ Xander thought. _What am I doing?_ The phrase “sleeping with the enemy” came to mind. Xander sighed. _OK the sex was good…phenomenal…ok the best ever,_ Xander internally ranted, _but this is insane with a capitol THIS-WILL-NOT-END-WELL._

 _And what does he mean he means to keep me?_ Xander wondered. _I’m not some prize. No one would ever mistake Alexander LaVelle Harris for that; one or two eyed. I’m not a piece of cargo won in a raid either. I’m an officer of the Council Initiative._

Xander finished prep work for the dinner chime meal and sat down at the table. _I need to stop thinking with my little head and think with the big one. I know the little one works better; or at least it works great with Spike. Now I just need to get the big one to function. What would Jesse do?_

 __Xander flinched at the thought of his friend. _Jess,_ Xander thought, _I’m sleeping with the same thing that killed you!_ Some part of Xander roared up to defend Spike. Spike was high-handed, arrogant, manipulative and completely domineering. Yet, Spike was also tender, funny, and could be heart-breakingly gentle. Memories of Spike nuzzling and licking away Xander’s tears came to mind.

 _Spike is not Caleb,_ Xander silently admitted. _It doesn’t mean he’s not my enemy; he’s just not my nightmare._ Xander tapped his fingers on the table. Xander continued to mull over the last few days since he’d been captured. He’d been off balance from day one. He’d been pretty much in reactionary mode since he’d been on board the _DeSoto_.

The escape attempt had been proactive; but it hadn’t worked. In some ways it landed him in a bigger mess. _Would I have ended up making whoopie with the Captain Tightbuns if I hadn’t had to sleep in the same bed with him?_ Little Xander answered yes. Xander just growled and sat back in his chair.

 _Maybe I need to be proactive in a different way,_ Xander thought. _Maybe I need to learn more than just Hyperion’s two days out from_ _Oxnard_ _. I’m sleeping with a legendary Biogen; someone obviously close to Angel himself. Maybe I can gather intel that will be useful when…well when I finally do escape or get back to the Council._

Xander ignored the part of him that asked about what would happen to Spike? What would happen to Fred? Xander shushed the little voice that wondered if this plan really would make him the “Council whore” the stranger back on Oxnard had accused him of being.

Still, the Lieutenant side of Xander thought it was a marvelous plan. If Xander was going to sleep with Spike he might as well get more out of it then just a happy cock and a wet spot. The Lieutenant side of Xander argued this plan would redeem Xander from succumbing to his baser instincts. The Lieutenant side of Xander ordered the rest of Xander to fall in line and get with the program. Little Xander of course held out for his own course of action. Xander spent the rest of the afternoon trying to figure out what kinds of information he’d try and seduce out of Spike.

***

Faith looked at Spike. Spike looked at Faith. The looks had been going back and forth for nearly a rotation.

“Right then!” Spike finally growled startling Wesley. “Say your peace.”

Faith smiled. “It’s not anything I’m sure you haven’t already thought about.”

“Just say it so we can get over the bleedin’ eyeballin’,” Spike answered.

“Was just going to say this doesn’t make the situation less fubar,” Faith replied.

“Actually, it probably makes the situation much more…er complicated,” Wesley interjected.

“I’m not completely dead from the neck up!” snorted Spike.

“Well certainly not from the waist down,” quipped Faith.

Wesley coughed. Spike growled. Faith grinned.

“Spike,” Wesley began again, “while I’m sure you and Xander had a pleasant encounter….”

“Extraordinary mate! Bloomin’ fantastic!” beamed Spike.   

“… **be** that as it may,” Wesley tried again desperate to stop Spike in case he went into details, “Xander is not just going to suddenly have some sort of instant conversion and suddenly abandon all that he knew and join the Biogen fight. In fact he may do the opposite. He may find the need to withdraw more completely into his Council beliefs.”

“Oi!” Spike said, “Xan wouldn’t do that. I think your underestimatin’ him.”

“And we think you’re underestimating human nature,” replied Faith.

Spike growled but thought about what Wes and Faith said. He really hoped the two were wrong; it hurt too much to believe otherwise.

***  
Dinner had past pleasantly enough. There was so more ribbing from Faith about how tired she was and how she hoped Fred had fixed the “engine problem” so the ship would be quieter. Xander had ignored her. Gunn had made some snappy remark and Xander had been just as quick with a snap back. Wesley tried to keep the peace. All seemed normal for what Xander had come to expect on the _DeSoto_ except Spike had seemed quieter than normal.

Xander had wondered about the odd silence from Spike while he cleaned up from dinner. _Maybe it had to do with a message from Angel,_ Xander thought. _Maybe there’s been a setback for the Biogens or maybe Angel’s got a weak spot in one of his plans and Spike knows it? Maybe that’s where I should start my line of questioning tonight?_

After dinner and clean-up Xander went back to the cabin. Spike was once again already there but this time he had two drinks poured and the personal unit was no where in sight. Spike was just waiting for Xander.

“Evenin’, pet,” Spike smiled. Xander flushed.

“Uhm…hi,” Xander said. _Oh god! How am I going to do this?_ Xander wondered.

“Drink?” Spike asked as reached out, picked up a glass and offered it to Xander.

“Trying to get me drunk?” Xander smiled as he reached out for the drink and took a sip.

“Nope. Just trying to get into your knickers,” Spike winked.

Xander coughed and sputtered whiskey.

“Oi! That’s hot, pet!” Spike laughed.

Xander flushed again but moved to join Spike on the couch. Spike slid over to give Xander just enough room so that he could sit down but would be pressed against the seductive Biogen. Spike put his drink down and turned toward Xander. Xander slammed his drink back. Spike began to run his hand up and down Xander’s torso and then moved in to nuzzle Xander’s neck.

“Missed ya, pet,” Spike whispered.

Heat flared through Xander and he gasped at Spike’s touch. _Remember the mission, Lt. Harris!_ Xander internally reminded himself. Spike delicately sucked one of Xander’s earlobes between his lips and began to suckle. _Screw the mission! Screw Spike!_ Little Xander demanded.

“Uhm…so uh, how was your day?”  Xander panted.

Spike released Xander’s well nursed ear, reached out and took Xander’s empty glass from Xander’s hands and then in one quick movement pulled his pet down and underneath him on the couch.

“Long,” purred Spike as he stretched out on top of his boy and then began to rub his heavy erection against Xander. “Long and hard, pet.”

Little Xander swelled and wanted Spike and Xander’s pants gone!

“Uhm…so bad news from Angel?” Xander whimpered as he snaked his arms around Spike. _This is bad._ Xander thought and arched up into Spike. _This is bad this is so goooood!_

“Nothin’ I can’t handle,” Spike said before laying claim to Xander’s mouth. Xander moaned as once again Spike swept in and took control. Spike was apparently the key to keeping Xander’s mouth in line. All Spike had to do was kiss Xander.

 _Mission_ _!_ _Mission_ _!_ _Mission_ _!_ Xander desperately tried to remind himself even as he pulled Spike closer and let his tongue dance in time with Spike. _Can’t pump him for information with your tongues tied together!_ Xander unfortunately realized and then tilted back his head breaking the kiss.

“So,” Xander panted as Spike began to lick and nibble a trail down Xander’s throat. “So everything’s ok? No…uh…no..change in the Biogen plans….whatever those maybe?”

“Umnn mmm,” Spike replied as he marked a trail to the hollow of Xander’s throat and licked while snaking his hands up under Xander’s shirt to circle Xander’s nipples with Spikes thumbs.

“Spike! Oh…pl…” Xander gasped, clutched Spike’s shoulders and arched his own heavy erection into Spike. _Mission_ _!_ Some ludicrous part of Xander insisted. Spike chuckled right against that hollow spot and Xander felt it all the way to his engorged tip.

“So..just curious,” Xander managed to moan, “what are….oh god…uhm…so what…are the Biogen plans?”

Spike froze. Some rational part of Spike’s brain had managed to get enough blood away from Spike’s lad to notice something was wrong. _What was Xander up to?_

“Pet,” Spike asked as he peered down to look in Xander’s eye, “what’s with all the questions?”

“Oh. Nothing!” Xander lied and smiled. “Just curious is all.”

Spike noted the physiological changes. _Xander was lying! Xander was lying to him!_ Then that part of Spike’s brain which had been working got even more blood and he paled as he realized what his boy was doing!

Spike snarled, slipped into game face, and launched himself away from Xander.

“Spike?” Xander asked startled by the sudden change.

“Shut up!” Spike spat. “Shut up!”

Xander paled. _What have I done?_ He wondered.

“Trying to pump me while pumping me? Is that it Harris?”

“Sp…” Xander tried to answer.

“I told you to bleedin’ shut it!” Spike said as he suddenly had his hands around Xander’s throat and threatened to squeeze. Xander froze. Spike could crush his neck in an instant.

“So you are still the good Council boy after all eh, Harris?” Spike spat. “Just using a different tactic. Had a bit o’fun last night? Eh? Thought you’d get your willie off and whore me out for info? Is that it?”

Xander remained quiet and still.

“After all, I’m just a bleedin’ machine? Why should I care? Right, Harris?” Spike inched his snarling face closer to Xander’s. “Do you think you’re the first Council bit of ass I’ve had, Harris? Huh? Shall I tell you about it? You want to know about Biogens, Harris?”

Spike released Xander and moved away from him.

“You’re right, Harris. Biogens were born in a tank and all we ever knew is what we were taught; programmed to know. No mum’s..no da’s…just organic mush and some bots in our blood to keep us perfect, healthy and give us all the special effects the Council..our masters wanted us to have. And most importantly what we had; was whatever training the Council gave us. It’s all we knew of the world and it’s all we believed. We served who bought us. And I did serve them. Served many of them in my first hundred or so years of existence. Then one day I was sold to a new master.”

Spike began to pace.

“I was trained to be a bodyguard for Council members. I had been taught literature, poetry and all the fine niceties of polite society plus…all the ways to kill a man. I was told I my new master was very important. I was told that I’d be serving a very fine man….a very important man. It would be an honor to serve him. I was happy to serve him!”

Spike went over to the bar and poured himself a drink. He slammed it back. Xander slowly sat up and went to stand up.

“Don’t you fuckin’ move, Harris!” Spike warned and Xander froze. Spike turned back around to face Xander.

“So finally it was delivery day. I was to be handed to my new master, Quentin Travers. They left me in his private office. Then the great man himself came in and I smiled. I FUCKIN’ smiled! I was so happy to finally meet the great important man…the latest for whom I was created to serve.”

Spike crossed back over to Xander.

“He was this portly middle-aged, balding man with a bad mustache and beard. He walked around me…inspecting me like I was a bleedin’ brand new hover ship! And I? I beamed…smiled…so proud to serve him! He poured himself a drink and as matter-a-fact-as-you-please ordered me to drop trou.”

Xander squirmed. _Oh Spi.._

“I said don’t bleedin’ move, Harris!” Spike snarled interrupting Xander’s thoughts before suddenly Spike had once again jerked Xander down on the couch and underneath him.

“You know what I did, Harris? Huh? I did! Didn’t question the man. Didn’t wonder. Just did it, cuz he told me to do so! And then you know what Harris? The man sipped his drink, pointed to his desk and told me to bend over. I did that too Harris. I stood there bollocks flappin’ in the wind bent over and waiting to be buggered while he finished his drink!”

Unbidden tears began to form in Xander’s eye.

“Don’t you fuckin’ cry for me Council Boy!” Spike snapped. “You wanted answers Harris? You wanted to know if everything was fuckin ok? So there I was bent over and Travers finishes his drink. I hear him pull something out of a draw. I smell something I later came to recognize as the all too familiar scent of slick. Then I hear him strokin’ himself….and I’m just standing there…standing there as ordered and I don’t even fuckin’ flinch when he comes up behind me Harris! I just stand there and when he parts my cheeks and just thrusts right in? Oh I scream…Harris…I scream cuz it bloody hurts! You know what it’s like to have your arse reamed Harris? To have some man just grab your arse and start pumpin’ away? To feel your insides go slick with blood and then with his spunk spurtin in ya? Huh? Harris?”

Xander shook his head trying not to let the forbidden tears fall.

“It hurts, Xander,” Spike whispered. “It hurts.”

For a moment Xander thought Spike had calmed down. Tentatively Xander moved to reach a hand up to Spike’s face.

“Touch me and I’ll break your hand, Harris,” Spike growled. Xander put his hand down.

“After he was done, I stood there with spunk and blood drippin out of my arsehole,” Spike resumed his story shaking with cold fury. “He told me to get dressed…I was dismissed until he needed me again. You know what I did Harris? You know what the big bad William the Bloody did? I smiled and said ‘Thank you sir!’”

Something inside of Xander broke. Or maybe it was something died. All Xander knew was in that moment he’d give anything; even his right eye to take some of Spike’s pain away.

“I thanked him Harris! I thanked him every fuckin’ time for a long time! And when he had me kill not to protect his puffy arse I thanked him. He was my master! It was an honor to serve him! If he said Kill! I did. If he said Desk! I bent….it wasn’t until Angelus…Angelus got me _thinking_ …and I don’t know what was worse Harris…to bend over and take it and be grateful to serve…or to bend over and take it and want to kill the bastard but can’t because of fuckin’ bleedin’ chip in my head!”

Xander couldn’t help it now. Tears were flowing. _Oh god, Spike! I’m so fucking sorry! I’m sorry Spike! I’m sorry!_ Xander thought over and over as the tears flowed.

“Tears? Council boy? Tears? You don’t get to cry for me, Harris!” Spike raged. “Or are you crying for yourself huh? Crying cuz you weren’t the first to just use Spike for a little happy time and Council business? Huh?” Is that what you want, Harris? Use me to get your rocks off and still serve the Council?”

Spike began to tear at Xander’s pants and yank them down over Xander’s hips.

“Spike no!” Xander panicked and fought.

“What Harris?” Spike said as with one vicious yank he had Xander’s pants down. “Thought you wanted this?”

“Please! Spike! I’m sorry!” Xander cried as Spike grabbed Xander’s very uninterested cock and began to painfully stroke and pull on it.

“Stop!” yelled Xander.

“Mmm,” Spike said ignoring Xander’s pleas. “Don’t seem to be too interested here, Harris. Maybe you had something else in mind?”

Once again before Xander knew what was happening Spike had used his Biogen strength and quickness to flip Xander. This time Xander ended up on his stomach face down on the couch; Spike still above him.

“NOO! SPIKE!” Xander screamed and tried to scramble forward. Spike grabbed Xander by the shirt and pulled him back down. Spike pinned him with his legs.

“Don’t have any lube at the moment, Harris,” Spike said as he yanked his own pants down. “Guess a bit a spit will have to do.”

Xander twisted his head around to see Spike. Spike spit into his palm and then began to stroke his cock. Xander bucked and twisted to try and get out from under Spike.

“Whoa! Gettin’ ahead of yourself there, Harris!” Spike laughed and then moved off of Xander’s legs only to yank Xander’s hips up to line up with Spike’s.

Xander felt Spike’s cock begin to press against Xander’s ass cheeks.

“Spike!” Xander sobbed. “Please don’t Spike! Please! Please don’t do this! I’m sorry Spike! I’m sorry! I didn’t know! Pleaaaasse!”

Spike froze. He stared down at the sobbing man and slowly released him. Spike backed away from the couch and pulled up his pants. Xander curled up in a ball at the end of the couch and stared at Spike.

“I’m sorry,” Xander whispered. “I’m so sorry.”

Spike turned and went into the bedroom. Xander took the moment to quickly pull up his pants before curling back up on the couch. _I’m so stupid!_ Xander thought.

Xander longed to go to Spike; to some how make it all better. Yet, Xander was afraid. Xander had fucked up and seen a side to Spike that had been born in unimaginable pain. Xander didn’t know what he could do to make it better or what he might do to make it worse. All he really knew is that he couldn’t leave the cabin; couldn’t leave Spike. Xander would take his chances and hope he’d find a way back from this horrible night.

Spike came back into the room. He was carrying the small pillow and the blanket Xander had come to think of as “his.”

“I think maybe you should sleep out here tonight,” Spike said as he put the items on the other end of the couch. Xander nodded. _If that’s where you want me to sleep, Spike,_ Xander thought.

“Spike,” Xander began as Spike turned to go back to the bedroom. “I’m sorry. I didn’t me….”

“I know,” Spike said quietly. “You’re Council. I’m Biogen.”

Then Spike left the sitting area and went into the bedroom shutting the hatchway door behind him. Xander didn’t move and just stared at the door for a long time with Spike’s words echoing in his head.

Xander began to cry when he realized Spike had stopped calling him “pet.”

**TBC**


	15. (15/43 plus Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lt. “Xander” Harris and Captain William the Bloody have both suffered and lost in the on going war between the Biogens and Council. Now, Xander finds himself a prisoner of Captain William the Bloody (aka Spike). What will be Xander’s fate?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always: Feedback makes my heart go pitter-patter.

__Then Spike left the sitting area and went into the bedroom shutting the hatchway door behind him. Xander didn’t move and just stared at the door for a long time with Spike’s words echoing in his head.  
  
Xander began to cry when he realized, Spike had stopped calling him “pet.”_   
_

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************

  
Xander didn’t know how long he cried after Spike shut the door. Xander certainly didn’t remember falling asleep either. However, he must have fallen asleep at some point because when he opened his eye the bedroom door was open and Spike was gone.   
  
Xander sat up. Apparently he’d slept still curled in a ball at the end of the couch. Blearily he threw his blanket off.. He wasn’t sure of the time; but it felt early.  Memories from the night before came at him again and he found he still had more tears to cry.   
  
“Spike,” Xander whispered. Xander had never really stopped wanting to die since the horrible day Jesse been killed, but this was the first time Xander truly felt the universe would have been a much better place if Xander had died.   
  
Xander stood up and looked around the cabin. He was lost. He wasn’t sure what to do next or where to go; so he just followed routine. He tidied up the sitting area and then got ready to take a shower. It was only as was undressing that realized his patch was off. Xander looked over at the dresser and there it lay.  
  
Once again tears formed in Xander’s eyes. Spike must have taken Xander’s patch off some time after Xander fell asleep. Xander didn’t know if that broke his heart a little more or gave him hope.  
  
***  
  
After his shower, Xander made his way to the mess to begin preparing for the morning chime. Gunn was already there sitting at the table.  
  
“You’re up early,” Xander remarked.  
  
“Early bird catches pneumonia,” Gunn muttered as he chugged some proto-fizz. “Or in this case gets thrown out of the bridge by his whiskey wielding captain and locked out before his shift’s ended. Wouldn’t know anything about that would you Xan?”  
  
“Spike locke…” Xander began not really answering the question.  
  
Gunn stood up and grabbed Xander by the collar.   
  
“You know I’ve just about had it with you! Since you’ve been on board the mess had been trashed, I’ve pulled a gun on Spike, been made to look like a fool, and now thrown off the bridge.” Gunn shook Xander for emphasis.  
  
“Now, Spike’s locked himself a way like it was Dru day! And you? You’re here making breakfast?”  
  
“Gunn…” Xander tried again.  
  
“I don’t care what’s gone down, Council Boy,” Gunn shouted and Xander winced at the “Council Boy.” “But if things don’t start getting a whole lot better on this ship a whole lot quick somebody is going to have a real bad accident with the air lock! Do you get my meaning?”  
  
Xander nodded and Gunn let him go before storming out of the mess. _Spike’s locked himself away?_ Xander thought as he tried to go back to prepping for the morning meal. _What’s a Dru day?_  
  
Xander was still no closer to having any answers when the morning chime came but the food was ready. Only none of the crew showed up for chow. Xander paced trying to figure out where everyone was and whether or not he should start stowing the food away, since he really wasn’t that hungry.   
  
Finally, Xander used the ship’s communicator and tried to hail Fred.  
  
“Fred,” Xander said tentatively.  
  
“Fred here,” came the clipped reply.  
  
“Uhm…breakfast is ready,” Xander said.  
  
“I’ll be skipping mess today,” Fred answered. “I’ve got a lot of maintenance to do on the engines.”  
  
“Oh, well do you want me to fix anything and send it down to you?”  
  
“Yes, Xander” Fred replied. “I do want you to fix something. I want you to fix whatever happened with Spike because if you don’t…”  
  
Xander’s eye widened at Fred’s steely tone and the long pause.  
  
“…you’ll be amazed at what that collar can be programmed to think constitutes a threat. Fred out.”  
  
Xander collapsed in a chair and fingered the collar around his neck. Some how he knew Fred would do it. She had that same tone Willow got when Xander had told her about Jesse. _How does everyone know what happens on this ship?_  
  
“It’s a small ship,” Wes said. Xander jumped.  
  
“You read minds?” Xander asked.  
  
Wes shook his head. “Just remarking that it’s a small ship and if the captain’s gone a bit around bend; it tends to affect everyone.”  
  
“Breakfast,” Xander meekly offered.  
  
“No, thank you,” Wes said. “Had a proto-fizz earlier with Gunn when he called to tell me about Spike throwing him off the bridge.”  
  
“So…” Xander began.  
  
“I’m here to tell you to figure out what you want,” Wes replied. “Either want Spike or want the Council but you can’t have both. If you keep trying to have it both ways you are going to wind up getting more than just yourself and Spike terribly hurt.”  
  
“Wes…” Xander began again.  
  
“It is that simple, Xander. Do you think when I made the decision to leave it was easy? I could have my father’s approval, my position as a Watcher or I could have the truth and my self respect. I couldn’t have both. I was lucky I had a talented Regent who wanted the same things and came with me or else, I probably wouldn’t have made it. But either way I had to make a choice, and so do you.”  
  
Wes turned to leave.   
  
“Wes!” Xander shouted after him. “What’s a ‘Dru day?’”  
  
Wes paused without turning back to look at Xander.  
  
“Dru day, it’s the anniversary of Drusilla’s death. Spike is always a bit…edgy that day.”  
  
“What happened to her?” Xander asked.  
  
“Didn’t they teach that at the academy?” Wes replied and turned to look at Xander.  
  
“I want to hear it from you,” answered Xander.  
  
“Dru was badly injured at the battle of Prague. She probably should not have been in the fight at all, but she was always at Spike’s side. Her injuries were such that she required large amounts of nutrients and rest if the nanites in her system had any hope in repairing the damage. Spike and Angel left her on the Whedon colony to heal while they tried to rescue more Biogens and regroup. Only the Council found the fall back position and sent in Kendra.”  
  
“The first Regent,” Xander said.  
  
Wesley nodded and continued. “Dru wasn’t in any shape to fight. She didn’t actually. According to Kendra’s watcher Dru stood and faced Kendra when Kendra entered the room. Dru said, ‘It’s long past bed time and I so want bread and jam with tea in the morning.’ Then, Kendra removed her head.”  
  
“But…” Xander said.  
  
“That’s not the Council version Xander. That’s the truth. Watchers may be a function of the Council used to train and help Regents but we’re also watchers. We record everything the girls do and study it for patterns of behavior or insights that will help us keep the Regents under control. The Council learned a little something from their mistake with the Biogens.”  
  
“Spike wasn’t there for Drusilla when she died,” Xander said quietly.  
  
“No,” Wesley said, “and he has a long life to live with that.”  
  
“But he did kill Kendra,” observed Xander.  
  
“Yes,” Wesley answered. “She was the first Regent he killed.”   
  
Xander fell silent with no more questions to ask and Wesley left the room. Xander stay sitting at the table for a long time before he began to pack away the morning meal. He left a few items out for lunch.  
  
When no one arrived for the lunch chime Xander finally listened to the rumbling in his stomach and ate a little. Then he packed everything away. He debated about starting something for dinner but decided to reorganize the mess.   
  
It was approaching the dinner chime when Faith strolled in to the mess.  
  
“If you’re here to threaten me,” Xander said as he was putting things back on a shelf, “get in line.”  
  
Faith hopped up on the table and smiled at Xander. “Actually here to see how you are doing.”  
  
“Why?” Xander asked as he turned to look at Faith as she perched on the table.  
  
“I take it something heavy went down last night,” Faith replied.  
  
“I mean why do you care how I’m doing?”  
  
“Jesse,” Faith answered. Xander bristled.  
  
‘I’m fine and you can go back to where ever you crawled out from,” Xander said.  
  
“Boy you really aren’t the brightest bulb are you?” Faith said as she shook her head.  
  
“And you…” Xander started.  
  
“Xander, did you ever think that if you just shut up and listen once in awhile instead of running your mouth you might have a few less bruises and more happy nights?” Faith interrupted.  
  
Xander narrowed his eye and looked at her.  
  
“I’d say I don’t know why I bother, but I’ve already told you,” Faith said. “He cared about you, you know?”  
  
“Spike?” Xander asked confused.  
  
“Jesse!” Faith said.   
  
“I don’t’ want to ta…”  
  
“Then don’t. Listen!” Faith interrupted again. “Jesse and I. Yeah, we weren’t together long but it was long enough for pillow talk. And he liked to talk over the pillows. He liked to talk about you. He hoped someday you’d find some one who cared for you like you deserved to be cared for. Jesse knew how you felt and he knew he couldn’t give you what you wanted.”  
  
Xander looked down hiding his too personal pain.  
  
“But he did care for you Xan. You were his best friend. And sometimes he’d sound sad when he talked about you. Sad cuz he thought he did you wrong.”  
  
Xander looked back up at Faith.  
  
“He thought Willow and he made a mistake getting you into the Initiative.”  
  
“Jesse didn’t think…” Xander started feeling the old familiar friend of failure rush through him.  
  
“Not for the reasons you think,” Faith said as she hopped off the table and stepped over to put a hand on Xander’s shoulder. “Deep down Jesse knew you were a good man Xander. A really good man with a good heart. He didn’t think being a soldier for the Council was right for you…because deep down he didn’t think you believed in the cause.”  
  
“I did…do!” Xander shouted angrily.  
  
Faith shook her head. “Jesse believed you were loyal to your friends but not the cause.”  
  
Xander was stunned at Faith’s words. _Was that really what Jesse had thought? Had Xander always been a good soldier because of his friends and not because he truly believed in the Council? Had he even cared about the Council line or was it all just rote words and phrases he remembered to be able to stay with Wills, Buffy and Jess? Is that why he hadn’t followed protocol? Is that why he tried so hard now? He failed Jesse and he tried to make up for the failure by…?_  
  
“I…” Xander just stared at Faith. He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know what to think.  
  
“I have to leave,” Xander said and then left Faith standing in the mess.   
  
***  
Xander haunted the corridors where he was authorized and the cargo bay. He wandered and he thought. Xander wished he could talk to Willow but he wasn’t sure even she could help him put this into perspective now. Xander’s understanding of the world around him was in shambles and the only constant he kept coming back to was Spike.  
  
A part of Xander wanted to cry. Jesse used to be his center. Buffy and Willow used to be the stars by which he could navigate the course of his life. Everything had been so neat and tidy. Now, Xander was lost and the only real direction he could find was Spike.  
  
Xander didn’t know why. It wasn’t just the way they’d been together; it was Spike. Xander was drawn to Spike in ways he didn’t understand. Some part of Xander just wanted to surrender to Spike. Maybe Spike couldn’t fix Xander’s world. Maybe Spike couldn’t repair the shambles but Xander could hold on to Spike; if Spike let him.   
  
_If Spike still wants me,_ thought Xander as he started making his way back to the cabin.   
  
Spike wasn’t in the cabin when Xander arrived. Xander’s heart sank. It was long past the dinner chime.   
  
Xander thought about trying to hail Spike on the communicator but thought better of it. Instead he’d wait for Spike. Xander thought about waiting on the couch; but decided to wait in the bedroom instead. That way, if Xander was asleep when Spike got back and didn’t want Xander in his bed, he’d have to wake Xander up.  
  
He didn't expect to fall asleep. He wanted to see Spike, but boredom and recent emotional upheaval got the best of Xander and he did fall asleep. However, something did work according to plan because Xander woke to the shout of “Harris!”  
  
Xander sat up and tried to blink the sleep out of his eye as he focused on Spike.  
  
“Wot are you doing in here?” Spike growled. “Thought we established you’d be sleeping on the couch?”  
  
Xander could smell the whiskey on Spike’s breath. _Had he been drinking all day?_ Xander wondered.  
  
“Uhm..I didn’t mean to fall asleep,” Xander said.  
  
“Then wot are you doing in here, Harris?”  
  
“I wanted to talk to you. I fell asleep while waiting.”  
  
“You and I have nothing to talk about, Harris,” Spike barked and he turned to walk back into the sitting room towards the bar.  
  
“Wai..I know,” Xander replied as he jumped off the bed. “But you and I do!”  
  
Spike turned and arched an eyebrow, “Daft now, Harris?”  
  
“What I mean,” Xander tried to explain, “is that Spike and Lt. Alexander LeVelle Harris have nothing to say to each other. I get that. I do. But…”  
  
Spike narrowed his eyes; they were flecked with gold.  
  
“Spike and his pet have a lot to say to each other,” Xander sputtered out as bravely as he could.  
  
“They do?” Spike asked as he took a step closer to Xander. Tension and anger radiated from him like heat from a coil drive.  
  
“They do,” Xander continued without retreating before Spike no matter how desperately he wanted to do so.  
  
“And what do ‘they’ have to talk about, Harris?” Spike asked.  
  
“Spike...,” Xander began and then halted for a minute trying to find the right words. “I think I’m a lot like you.”  
  
Spike laughed and advanced on Xander. Spike was full in game face and his beautiful blue eyes were a lethal yellow.  
  
“You? Like me? How, Council Boy?” Spike snarled.  
  
“That’s just it,” Xander whispered looking into Spike’s deadly eyes. “I don’t think I am a ‘Council Boy..not really”  
  
“What?” Spike said as he grabbed Xander and jerked him close. “A couple of good humps? One good scare and you’re a convert?”  
  
“No,” whispered Xander as he tried to ignore Spike’s painful grip. “I mean…yeah..I may have had a mom and I may have had a dad…and I had …have friends...good friends…but all I’ve ever known Spike was the Council. I’ve lived in the ‘Dale all my life..I never saw the hardships Gunn saw. I never had the curiosity of Fred…or whatever her story is…I didn’t have a watcher with super secret information on what the Council does…all I knew was what the Council said and I believed them…why shouldn’t I?”  
  
Spike’s grip tightened even more as Xander babbled.  
  
“..but…I had friends..and they were all I cared about..all I wanted…until…”  
  
“Until wot, Harris?”  
  
“Until you,” Xander answered.  
  
“Don’t toy with me!” Spike said as he shook Xander.  
  
“I’m not!” Xander cried. “You are a Biogen. You know if I’m lying! Look at me! Am I lying?”  
  
Spike looked Xander over. He listened to his heart and scented him for anything that might betray Xander and he couldn’t find it. Spike shook Xander again and let him go. Xander stumbled but caught himself on the bedroom archway.  
  
“It’s not enough, Xander,” Spike said quietly. “It doesn’t change anything.”  
  
“Yes! Yes it does!” Xander insisted.  
  
“You’re Cou…” Spike started to say but Xander reached out and put his hand to Spike’s mouth.  
  
“I’m your pet, Spike. I won’t betray my friends,” Xander said quietly, “but I won’t betray you either.”  
  
Once again Spike looked over Xander and tried to check for any deceit. He found none. Something tight inside of Spike began to uncoil. Spike reached up and gently pulled Xander’s hand from Spike’s mouth.  
  
“Don’t say it if you don’t mean it,” Spike whispered.  
  
“I do,” Xander answered.  
  
Spike felt the rage that had been burning in him for almost twenty-four rotations begin to slip away along with his enhanced face. The hurt he’d been carrying began to unclench and he found himself reaching out to cup Xander’s face.  
  
“How can you after…” Spike started to ask barely bringing himself to say the words, “..after wot I almost did to you last night?”  
  
“You didn’t, Spike. You couldn’t…and…I’d give anything,” Xander choked “if I could take away some of that pain…anything…even my right eye.”  
  
“Shhh!” Spike began to kiss both of his boy’s eyebrows and murmured. “Don’t you say that, Xander. Don’t you fuckin’ say that!”  
  
Xander brought his arms around Spike’s waist and pulled him close; hugging him tight.  
  
“I don’t know what to believe in any more or what to hold on to,” Xander whispered. “Please, Spike, let me believe in you…let me hold on to you.”  
  
Spike pulled back from kissing Xander’s eyebrows and looked at his boy.  
  
“I’m never letting you go, pet,” Spike vowed. At the word “pet” something inside of Xander came to life and another part of him became frightened. _What if I screw this up again?_ Xander thought.  
  
“Even if..if I do something stupid and…,” Xander began to babble.  
  
“Be as mouthy, stupid and annoying as you’re gonna be, pet,” Spike said as he leaned in to claim his boy’s mouth, “but you had you’re chance to walk away and now your MINE.”   
  
Xander once again gladly submitted and surrendered to Spike opening his mouth and letting Spike claim him. Spike tasted of too much whiskey, too little sleep and hunger. Xander loved it and chased the flavors with his own tongue until Spike groaned.  
  
Spike broke the kiss and smiled. His boy was flushed and looked well kissed. Spike could smell his boy’s want and need. Spike’s own need was just as strong but he needed a shower and a rest before he took his boy the way he wanted. Xander didn’t deserve a drunken sleepy fuck.   
  
“C’mon, pet,” Spike said as he took Xander’s hand and steered him back into the bedroom. “Shower time and then sleep.”  
  
“Sleep?” Xander asked.  
  
“Sleep, pet,” Spike said. “What I need most from you right now is just to feel you snuggled up and warm next to me while I sleep. I’m too tired and too pissed to give you the proper shagging you deserve.”  
  
Xander blushed.  
  
“Oi! You keep doing that and we’re never gonna get to sleep.”  Spike laughed and once again kissed his boy. Then Spike swatted his pet on the butt. “Now strip!”  
  
“Anyone ever tell you, you were bossy?” Xander retorted with a hidden smile as he got undressed.  
  
“Not if they wanted to live,” Spike growled while hungrily leering at his boy.  
  
Xander rolled his eye. “Bully!”  
  
“Git!” Spike grinned.  
  
The two men traded barbs and insults all through their shower. Xander protested Spike washing him and Spike did it any way. They continued with their “fight” until they climbed in bed. Once again Spike arranged his boy until Xander was draped across Spike with his head on Spike’s chest.   
  
Spike began to card his fingers through Xander’s hair.  
  
“Exactly how long am I going to have to grow my hair?” Xander mumbled into Spike’s chest.   
  
“Shhh!" Spike laughed. "Go to sleep. Trust me when I say, pet, your going ta need it.”   
  
Xander grinned and hugged Spike tight. Then he relaxed and let Spike stroke his hair. Xander was asleep long before Spike had reveled enough in the feel and scent of his boy to truly trust Xander was his.

**TBC**


	16. (16/43 plus Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lt. “Xander” Harris and Captain William the Bloody have both suffered and lost in the on going war between the Biogens and Council. Now, Xander finds himself a prisoner of Captain William the Bloody (aka Spike). What will be Xander’s fate?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always: Feedback makes my heart go pitter-patter.

__The two men traded barbs and insults all through their shower. Xander protested Spike washing him and Spike did it any way. They continued with their “fight” until they climbed in bed. Once again Spike arranged his boy until Xander was draped across Spike with his head on Spike’s chest.__  
  
Spike began to card his fingers through Xander’s hair.  
  
“Exactly how long am I going to have to grow my hair?” Xander mumbled into Spike’s chest.   
  
“Shhh!" Spike laughed. "Go to sleep. Trust me when I say, pet, your going ta need it.”   
  
Xander grinned and hugged Spike tight. Then he relaxed and let Spike stroke his hair. Xander was asleep long before Spike had reveled enough in the feel and scent of his boy to truly trust Xander was his.

***************************************************************************************************************************************************

  
Xander was frustrated. _It_ was right just out of his reach. He kept struggling to grasp _it_ ; to hold _it_ and _it_ kept slipping away from him. He moaned. _If I could just get a little closer,_ he thought. Once again Xander reached out and fell short. He twisted and groaned. He was going crazy. He had to have _it._  
  
“Easy, pet,” Xander vaguely heard Spike.  
  
“Spike,” Xander mumbled. _Maybe he can help me get it?_ Xander thought as another surge of need rumbled through him. Once again Xander moaned and he heard Spike’s throaty laugh.  
  
“Spike,” Xander mumbled again and clenched his hands while moist heat enveloped him and drew him closer and yet farther away from _it._ “Please,” Xander moaned.  
  
Hands caressed Xander’s inner thigh and then lightly pinched him. Xander’s eye flew open and his conscious and unconscious mind collided into a maddening maelstrom of want and need as Spike circled Xander’s crown with his tongue.  
  
“Spike!” Xander cried and arched off the bed. Hands immediately gentled Xander’s hips back down to the bed and Spike looked up from between Xander’s legs to stare at his pet’s sleep and passion filled face.  
  
“Morning, pet,” Spike grinned.  
  
“Sp..what are you doing?” Xander panted and groaned trying to make sense of the delicious world unto which he’d woke.  
  
“Just trying to get my brekkies,” Spike replied as he took another long swipe at Xander’s hard morning erection.  
  
“Brekkies?” groaned Xander.  
  
“Mmmm hmmm,” Spike hummed against Xander’s ballsac. “Lot of protein and trace nutrients in here.”  
  
“Sp…,” Xander started to say before being reduced to a long moan as Spike began to nibble and suck on Xander’s testes. Xander’s hands unclenched and quickly buried themselves in Spike’s soft golden curls.  
  
Spike allowed Xander to play with his hair for a bit why he suckled and nibbled on his pet’s fleshy jewels. Spike loved the inarticulate sounds Xander was making and sucked and nipped even more until he was fairly certain his pet was incoherent. When Spike could once again smell his boy was weeping with need he retreated from his assault on Xander’s round bits.  
  
Gently Spike grabbed Xander’s hands and pulled them away from Spike’s hair. Xander groaned in protest.  
  
“Grab the headboard, pet,” Spike ordered.  
  
“Spike?” Xander panted and stared at his commanding lover. Spike gave his customary arched eyebrow. Xander moaned in frustration but reached over his head and grabbed the headboard.  
  
“Can you keep your hands there, pet,” Spike asked, “or do you need help?”  
  
“What?” Xander answered trying to process what Spike was asking. Then Xander understood. Spike wanted to know if he’d have to put Xander’s hands in the restraints. “No, I can keep them there.”   
  
Spike smiled. _If you can’t, pet,_ he thought, _I’ll have some extra fun punishing you._  
  
“Good,” Spike said. “Now, spread your legs wide, keep your knees bent and plant your feet flat on the bed.”  
  
“Spiiiiike,” Xander groaned. _Can’t we get back to the nibbling and the suckling,_ Xander thought as he did as he was ordered.  
  
Spike laughed at his boy’s impatience and lightly bit him on his inner thigh.  
  
“Ouch,” Xander pouted.   
  
Hunger swept through Spike. Some day he was going to tie his boy up and bite every inch of him until he had only that pouting lip for dessert. Until then Spike contented himself by licking away the delicious drop of sweet need that was making its way down Xander’s shaft. Spike purred and Xander hissed in frustration.  
  
“You taste like planetside,” Spike whispered. Xander blushed and moaned.  
  
“Please, Spike,” Xander begged.  
  
“Stay,” Spike ordered as he got up from the bed.  
  
“Hey, still not a dog,” Xander sniped in frustration as he lay naked, spread out and aching.  
  
“Once again, never said you were,” Spike laughed as he dug through one of his dresser drawers and pulled out a small cloth tie and a tube of slick.  
  
Xander had seen both items on his previous searches but hadn’t given them much more than a passing thought. Now they held his attention.  
  
Spike crawled back on the bed and settled between Xander’s legs. He smiled down at his boy. _Mine,_ he thought. _From here on out he’s mine. The soddin’ universe can get cattled for all I care if it means givin’ him up._  
  
“Hang on,” Spike ordered and then he bent down and inhaled Xander’s hard length. Xander screamed in surprised pleasure while Spike swallowed him down and sucked him hard. Spike relaxed his throat and took his boy down as deep as he could and milked him. Xander tried to buck under him but Spike held his hips down. Spike sucked and swallowed until he felt Xander was on the verge of a pounding release.  
  
Just as quickly as Spike had inhaled him, Spike released Xander and immediately bound Xander’s cock and balls with the cloth tie.  
  
“NOOO!!” Xander screamed in angry frustration and jerked on the headboard. Tears began leaking from Xander’s right eye. Spike quickly crawled up his pet and began to kiss and lick the tears.  
  
“Shh, Xander, its ok,” Spike soothed, “Trust me pet. Trust me.”  
  
Spike worked his way to Xander’s mouth. Despite his frustration and confusion, Xander welcomed Spike’s kiss and opened up to his blond tormentor. Spike tasted and explored his delicious Xander with his lips and tongue while he used his thumbs to rub circles around Xander’s nipples.  
  
“Spike,” Xander finally whispered when Spike broke the breath taking kiss, “why?”  
  
“Because, pet,” Spike answered as he rained gentle kisses down Xander’s throat. “I want you to cum only when I tell you.”  
  
Spike laved Xander’s belly button as his pet began to laugh.  
  
“You really are a control freak, you know that?” Xander chuckled forgiving Spike.  
  
“I’m the captain,” Spike grinned as he paused his kisses to look Xander in the eye. Spike was smiling but Xander could see the hint of sadness lurking under the smile and some sort of inexpressible question. What was Spike asking?   
  
Xander studied the incredibly beautiful man paused hungrily above him. Once again, some part of Xander understood. Spike needed the control. Spike had been powerless for so long he had to have control to feel safe.   
  
_Can I really give him that?_ Xander wondered. He stared into Spike’s blue eyes filled with want, desire and a need for Xander. There was a hint of sadness in those eyes but there was also laughter and teasing. Xander knew he’d inspired those emotions. _I offered him my eye but perhaps this is what I can give instead._  
  
Xander smiled and rolled his eye.  
  
“Aye, Aye, Captain,” Xander drawled. Spike swooped in for another possessive kiss. _Thank you, Xander,_ Spike thought not really realizing until that moment what had just passed between them.  
  
“I’m going to shag ya until you’re completely balmy,” Spike uttered when he once again ended another breathtaking kiss. Xander nodded and tried to remember how to breathe. It didn’t help that Spike had begun blazing a trail with his tongue down Xander’s throat and sternum.   
  
Xander gripped the headboard and moaned but tried to remain completely submissive and flat on the bed. Spike tasted and explored his pet with his tongue. Spike paid extra attention to Xander’s hard little nipples with long slow licks followed by quick bites and pinches.   
  
Xander was panting and shaking now underneath Spike. He’d never wanted anyone as bad as he wanted Spike. Xander’s hard cock and full balls ached for release but still Spike feasted on Xander trailing his tongue down and swirling around Xander’s belly button.   
  
“Spike!” Xander begged and whimpered as Spike’s tongue now danced on the tip of Xander’s red and purple tip. Spike worshiped and marveled at his pet’s beautiful staff and looked forward to many opportunities to play with it. Spike also looked forward to leaving Xander whimpering and begging for release.  
  
Once again Spike moved away from his boy. He ignored Xander’s groan and grabbed a pillow.   
  
“Lift up,” Spike ordered. Xander did. Spike chuckled to himself. _So that’s the secret to get the mouthy git to follow orders immediately and without question; get ‘im hard and leaking!_  
  
Spike placed the pillow under Xander’s hips canting them up. Spike pressed gently on Xander’s waist indicating to relax back down on the bed. Xander did.   
  
Once again Spike settled between Xander’s legs. Casually he began stroking the back of Xander’s thighs. There was still another place; another part of Xander for Spike to taste and explore.   
  
Spike’s wandering hands brushed down and traced circles on Xander’s firm and muscled ass cheeks. Spike leaned forward and inhaled the musky intimate scent of his boy. Once again the primitive thought, _MINE_ , rushed through Spike.   
  
“Spike,” Xander nervously asked as he felt his ass cheeks being delicately parted.  
  
“SPIKE!” Xander cried in pleasurable shock as Spike leaned forward a little more and placed a tender kiss on Xander’s secret hole.   
  
“Shhh,” Spike mumbled against Xander’s puckered dusky flesh and then began to feast anew on his uncovered treat.   
  
Xander used what remaining sanity he had to keep from arching off the bed. With each swipe of Spike’s tongue Xander was discovering a new sense of pleasure and erotic thrall. He whimpered, panted, begged, cried and shook. He was completely Spike’s.   
  
Over and over Spike laved, kissed and tasted Xander’s hidden spot until Xander thought he was mindless with desire. It wasn’t until Spike slipped his tongue inside and breached Xander for the first time that he truly _was_ mindless with desire.  
  
Spike drank in the taste and the sound of his boy. Niether he or Spike would last that much longer. Still Spike continued to tongue fuck Xander. _I’m going to open him up properly_ , Spike vowed.  
  
When Xander’s little hole was completely open and accepting of Spike’s tongue, Spike slicked up three of his fingers. He sat back and watched his boy as gently he began to ease one finger inside his pet.  
  
Xander had closed his eye while being caught up in the thrall of being tongue fucked by Spike but when he felt the firmer and stranger sensation of Spike’s finger breaching him Xander opened his eye and stared at Spike.   
  
The two men silently watched each other as they began the erotic ritual that would open up Xander for the first time to receive another man. After a few moments, Spike’s finger slid easily into Xander.  
  
The two men sighed in unison. Spike began a gentle rhythm of finger fucking Xander’s opening pressing in deeply and then withdrawing only to press back in deeply. Xander moaned at the promise of the sensation. He wanted Spike. He wanted all of Spike.   
  
When Spike had pressed deeply for the third time he crooked his finger and rubbed the treasure spot inside of Xander. Spike grinned with pleasure as Xander gasped, flushed and then cried Spike’s name.  
  
“That’s the spot I’m going to pound over and over when I’m inside ya, pet,” Spike said as he pulled back his finger and began to the work to get his boy opened wide enough for two fingers.  
  
“Oh please,” Xander begged despite the slight burn of the added pressure.  
  
“’M going to do this right, pet,” Spike said and then smiled as his boy once again opened up and his fingers slid into that tight heat that was Xander. Spike groaned. His own cock was leaking and hard waiting for its chance to be inside Xander.  
  
Once again Spike finger fucked Xander and played with his prostate until he thought Xander was ready for three fingers.   
  
“SPIKE PLEASE!” Xander shouted desperately as all three of Spike’s fingers were buried deep in Xander’s ass. “Please fuck me!”  
  
Spike withdrew his fingers and then slicked up his cock. He looked up to see Xander had lifted his head and was watching him.  Spike smiled and made a show of stroking his own leaking need and generously lubing it.  
  
Xander groaned. Spike then moved forward and positioned himself right at Xander’s opening.   
  
Xander’s breath hitched as he felt the tip of Spike’s cock right there where Spike had so carefully prepared him. He was shaking with need and longrd to just impale himself on Spike if he could.  
  
“I take ya,” Spike said interrupting Xander’s thoughts. “I claim ya and there’s no going back. I won’t let you go, Xander.”   
  
 Xander’s brown eye met Spike’s piercing blue.   
  
“Shut up and fuck me, Spike,” Xander smiled.  
  
Spike grinned and began to thrust forward. _Cor Blimey!_ Spike thought as Xander’s body opened up and began take Spike inside. _He’s bloody amazing! He’s so tight and hot! I’m not going to last long!_  
  
“Spike!” Xander cried at the feeling of being filled up by Spike.   
  
“Spike!” Xander panted again welcoming everything about the experience, the slight burn, the full sensation and the silky feel of Spike sliding against him and inside of him.  
  
Both men locked gazes when Spike was settled fully inside of Xander. Both men grinned at each other as they paused a moment to let their bodies adjust.   
  
“Wrap your legs around me, pet,” Spike ordered. Xander did.  
  
“Now hang on, pet and watch me” Spike ordered as he began to thrust.   
  
At first Spike was slow and gentle but as Spike began to thrust deeper into Xander the tempo increased. Xander kept his gaze locked with Spike’s. He felt he was on the verge of falling into the unfathomable blue of Spike’s eyes.  
  
Over and over Spike thrust into Xander setting up a rhythm that left Xander gasping and begging. As promised, Spike tilted and angled his thrusts until he was constantly pounding against Xander’s sensitive nub.  
  
“SPIKE!” Xander began to scream feeling his need overwhelming him despite the cock restraint.  
  
Spike thrust deeply into Xander, paused and pitched forward to lay claim to Xander’s mouth. Spike’s tongue danced around and over Xander’s.  Xander groaned. Spike withdrew and then kissed his way down to Xander’s throat.  
  
“Offer yourself to me,” Spike whispered against Xander’s neck. “I want to claim all of you.”  
  
Xander was confused. He wasn’t sure what Spike meant but something instinctual inside of Xander did and he turned his head baring his throat to Spike.   
  
There was both pleasure and pain as once again Spike began to thrust inside of Xander and then bit down hard on Xander’s neck. Spike thrust inside of Xander even as his tongue laved at the bit of blood the bite had drawn. _I have tasted all of you now, my pet_ , Spike thought as he leaned back and really began to pound into Xander.  
  
Spike’s increased tempo and powerful thrusts were bringing him close too. He reached forward and with a quick flick loosened the knot and removed the restraint.  
  
Xander felt the freedom and nearly came but Spike quickly grabbed him.  
  
“With me,” Spike hissed. Then Spike ceded his control. In and out, over and over, and skin against skin Spike and Xander moved.  
  
Oblivion opened up before them. Spike released his hold on Xander.  
  
“Cum for me, Xander!” Spike yelled as he felt his own release begin.  
  
The two men locked gazes even as their bodies writhed and danced inside and against one another. Xander shot and spurted his release on his stomach and chest even as he felt Spike’s hot seed stream inside of him.  
  
Xander was drowning in the bliss. His world was narrowing to just the pleasure of his intense orgasm and the blue of Spike’s eyes and then Xander slipped away into unconscious bliss.  
  
Spike watched Xander’s eye blacken with pleasure until it was the color of pitch and then he was lost in his own oblivion.  
  
***  
  
Xander opened his eye to the sensation of something warm and wet rubbing against him.  
“What are you doing?” Xander groaned as he struggled to get his completely satiated and relaxed body to sit up.  
  
“Eatin’ my brekkies,” answered Spike as he licked his pet’s spunk off of his pet’s chest and stomach. “Have to say it’s your best dish yet.”  
  
Xander laughed and collapsed on the bed.  
  
“I suppose you will want this every morning?” Xander teased as Spike finally ceased his licking and moved up to kiss Xander.   
  
“And at noon, before bed, and as a snack in between meals,” Spike murmured against Xander lips.  
  
“Hey, _pure_ human here!” Xander laughed. “There’s only so much I can produce in a day.”  
  
Spike lay down and once again arranged his pet so he could pet Xander’s hair.  
  
“Oi,” Spike said. “Well then we’ll have to get Fred working on some special concoction so you can keep up with my dem…er needs.”   
  
Xander rolled his eye. “In your dreams.”  
  
Spike smiled. “Every night.”

**TBC**


	17. (17/43 plus Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lt. “Xander” Harris and Captain William the Bloody have both suffered and lost in the on going war between the Biogens and Council. Now, Xander finds himself a prisoner of Captain William the Bloody (aka Spike). What will be Xander’s fate?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always: Feedback makes my heart go pitter-patter.

__Spike lay down and once again arranged his pet so he could pet Xander’s hair.__  
  
“Oi,” Spike said. “Well then we’ll have to get Fred working on some special concoction so you can keep up with my dem…er needs.”   
  
Xander rolled his eye. “In your dreams.”  
  
Spike smiled. “Every night.”  


_****************************************************************************************************************************************************  
_

_  
_Xander eased into consciousness. He was warm, satiated and fully rested. Xander lie there listening to the sound of Spike’s even breathing kept company by the rhythmic beat of Spike’s heart. For the first time in years Xander felt truly at peace. There was no war, no loss and no death; there was only Spike. Xander smiled, turned his head and lightly kissed his lover’s chest. Whatever happened, Xander had this morning and this memory to hold him sane and safe.  
  
“Credit for your thoughts,” Spike purred.  
  
Xander shifted his body and turned his head so he could look at this lover’s face.  
  
“Not really thinking anything,” Xander said.  
  
“Oi!” Spike replied. “I can hear the wheels turning from here. They’re rusty with disuse.”  
  
“Hey!” Xander laughed and pinched Spike. Spike quickly captured his pet’s wrists and then rolled until he had his boy pinned underneath him. Spike stared down into Xander’s face and grinned. _Mine!_ He thought once again and then swooped in for a kiss.  
  
Xander relaxed and welcomed Spike’s possession and once again willingly gave the blonde captain control. _Whatever he needs to feel safe,_ Xander thought as Spike continued to pin Xander’s wrists down while kissing him senseless.  
  
Spike moved Xander’s hands until Spike could pin them using only one hand. Then Spike used his free hand to shamelessly explore, touch and tease Xander’s body. Xander moaned and spread his legs wide offering himself completely to Spike.  
  
Spike broke their kiss and looked down at his lover and obedient pet. _Could it really be this easy?_ Spike wondered.  
  
“Whatever you need,” Xander whispered earnestly.  
  
“What about you, pet? Spike asked. “What do you need?”  
  
Xander smiled and Spike felt the twitch and prod of “Little Xander” as once again it began to swell and lengthen.  
  
“You,” Xander answered.  
  
“It won’t always be this simple,” Spike said as he brought his own waking rod into delicious contact with “Little Xander.”  
  
“Hey, where have you been the past few days, Captain Peroxide?” Xander laughed. “I didn’t think any of this was simple.”  
  
Spike growled to hide his amusement and leaned down to bite and suck on Xander’s right nipple until it was red, firm and bruised enough to leave a mark for Spike to enjoy later. Xander hissed and grew harder.  
  
“There’s a bloody war goin’ on, Xander,” Spike said when he pulled his mouth away from his pet. “Hearts and romance don’t even rank the casualty list.”  
  
“Is that what this is?” Xander asked with the barest of quivers in his voice. “Is this a romance?”  
  
“Cor, pet!” Spike swore and then kissed Xander until the dark haired “boy” was breathless and his lips were red and swollen. “Yes, Xander because only a bloody romance could be this ill timed and make this much sense.”  
  
Xander smiled and Spike thought his heart would cease to beat. “There’s no guarantee this will end well, Xander.”  
  
“I’m not interested in this ending, Spike,” Xander said.   
  
It was Spike’s turn to smile. Spike released Xander’s wrists.   
  
“Kiss me, pet,” Spike whispered.  
  
Xander reached up and gently twined his hands behind Spike’s neck and pulled Spike to him and kissed Spike. Xander tasted and explored Spike enjoying every moment of this rare opportunity to take the lead.  
  
Spike relaxed briefly into the moment allowing Xander to taste and explore him. Xander was a gentle soul and it was evident in each kiss and each caress. In that brief moment, Spike felt like something that had been torn and shredded deep inside his psyche begin a very tentative attempt to knit itself back together.  
  
Gently Spike brought his hands to Xander’s face and mapped the contours reveling in the feel of his pet’s skin. Slowly Xander ceased his kiss and lay back passive under Spike.   
  
“Ready for round two?” Spike asked as he began to slide his cock over Xander’s  
  
“Two…two hundred,” Xander answered with a groan.  
  
Spike laughed and once again started a sensual journey that ended with sweat, semen and the echoed cries of passion.  
  
***  
  
It was well after the lunch chime before the Captain and his Mate entered the mess.  
  
“C’mon my feet are freezing!” Xander argued as they entered the galley.  
  
“Well then you’ll have to keep busy to keep ‘em warm won’t you?” Spike answered.  
  
“Hey! It’s not like I’m going to go running off now.” Xander whined.  
“But you did, didn’t you?”  
  
“Yes but that was…,” Xander paused and blushed. “..that was _before_.”  
  
“Still, I gave you an order, pet, and you disobeyed it. So…tough it up.”  
  
Xander stopped at the table as Spike sat down.   
  
“Tough it up?!”  
  
The rest of the crew, sans Wesley, stared at the duo.  
  
“’S what I said.”  
  
“Fine,” Xander said as he sat down as far from Spike’s reach as he could get.  
  
“Pet,” Spike growled noticing the distance and not liking it. Spike had the need to keep his boy within easy reach.  
  
“Tough it up,” Xander snarked with his arms crossed over his chest and his chin pointed decidedly away from Spike.  
  
“Captain,” Faith interjected.  
  
“What?” snapped Spike whose eyes had gone golden and predatory watching Xander who in turn looked everywhere but at Spike.  
  
“Angel has been leaving messages for you all morning,” Faith answered.  
  
Spike reluctantly shifted his gaze back to Faith. “What’s the poofter want now?”  
  
“Well,” Faith began, “I think he’d very much appreciate it if you and Fred finally finished the emergency repairs which have been so consuming your time this morning so you could actually speak with him.”  
  
“Repairs?” Spike asked.  
  
“Not like Faith wanted to tell the bossman you were too buy makin’ time with the Cou…” Gunn paused noting the ripple of displeasure beginning to emanate from his Captain. “...makin’ time with ‘the prisoner.’”  
  
Spike nodded. “How far out from Hyperion?”  
  
“We’ll be there at the beginning of rotation tomorrow.”  
  
Spike sighed and got up from the table. Spike looked at Xander who was still pretending to ignore him.  
  
“Make sure the git eats something,” Spike snarled as he stormed off to the bridge.  
  
“Yeah! Something warm to keep me from hypothermia!” Xander shouted after Spike.  
  
“How can you two be doin’ the horizontal bop all day and Spike still be in a bad mood?” Gunn asked.  
  
“What!” Xander coughed and sputtered.  
  
“Charles!” Fred gently chastised.  
  
“Oh, I’d say the bad mood has more to do with Spike having to resume Captain’s duties and interrupting Captain’s mate’s duties,” replied Faith as she fixed a plate of leftovers for Xander who was almost purple with embarrassment.  
  
“And about those,” continued Gunn, “why do they have to interfere with his cooking duties? Can’t they work out some sort of schedule so Xander can at least get to the mess on time? I mean cooking is the one thing _I_ know he can do well.”  
  
“Apparently he performs his other duties better,” Faith said as she put a plate of food down in front of Xander.  
  
“Charles! Faith!” squealed Fred.  
  
“Breathe,” Faith ordered and winked at a nearly apoplectic Xander.   
  
“Clearly we will have to work out a system,” Wesley said as he entered the galley, “where we can determine whether or not Xander will be reporting to the galley on time to prepare meals.”  
  
“Do you all mind?” Xander finally squeaked past his shock and embarrassment. “Xan-man’s right here.”  
  
“They’re just teasing, Xander,” said Fred as she came over and laid a soothing hand on his shoulder. “We are all actually pleased things are better between you and Spike.”  
  
“Pleased?” ask Gunn. “Not how I was gonna characterize it.”  
  
“Yes, Charles, we have all registered your reservations,” acknowledged Wesley.  
  
“You don’t like it…Spike and I being together huh, big guy?” asked Xander.  
  
“No, I don’t.”   
  
“Well one more reason to do it then,” grinned Xander.  
  
“It’s a mistake,” shouted Gunn startling the rest of the crew. “People are gonna get hurt and badly.”  
  
“In case you haven’t noticed,” Xander stood up and shouted back, “it’s a war out there and people are already getting hurt.”  
  
Gunn stood up and leaned over the table toward Xander. “What happens out there is the casualties of war. Where this is heading will be because you two couldn’t keep your hands out of each others happy pants!”  
  
“Charles!” shouted Fred and Wesley at the same time.  
  
“Somebody on this ship has to be a realist and not a romantic!” Gunn responded as he stepped away from the table and towards the door. “Spike’s a good captain and I’d follow him to the center of a black hole but I’m just not going to stand by and pretend that this bump and grind is going to lead anywhere but hurt and disaster.”  
  
“Your concerns are duly noted,” Faith said in a chilled voice.  
  
“And what would you have us do?” asked Xander in a quiet voice as he stared at Gunn.  
  
“Stay away from each other. Go back to your friends and forget about Spike,” Gunn answered just as quietly.  
  
“That’s not going to happen,” replied Xander.  
  
Gunn stared at the one-eyed man for a moment and then sighed. “I know, man. I know, Xander.”  
  
Then Gunn was gone leaving an awkward silence behind in the mess. Xander sat down and stared at his food because a) he didn’t know where else to look and b) he had to figure out what he was going to do with the stuff. Xander wasn’t hungry but he knew Spike expected him to eat.  
  
“Well, that could have gone better,” Wesley said as Xander began to pick at his food.  
  
“I’m so sorry, Xander,” Fred said.  
  
“It’s all right,” Xander said around a small mouthful of food. “You know, I think he’s got a real career in motivational speaking.”  
  
Faith laughed, Fred giggled and Wesley smirked. Xander longed for his left eye so he could wink. Winking with only one eye didn’t work so well; it just looked like a long blink. Xander just settled with smiling at the rest of the crew and trying to think of a new schedule to allow for him to continue to cook for the crew and to keep up with Spike.  
  
The rest of the day and evening had passed uneventfully. Spike had seemed withdrawn after talking with Angel but he didn’t share any details with Xander. Xander in return didn’t share any details about the little scene in the mess between him and Gunn.   
  
Instead, Xander did share with Spike and the rest of the crew his new galley schedule. Xander would prepare what was needed for breakfast the night before. If Xander was about in the morning, he would go ahead and make breakfast. If not, the crew would then have to do very little to put breakfast together. Xander would then make sure to take care of lunch and dinner.  
  
Spike growled a bit at Xander’s assertive schedule but Xander just wagged his bare feet at the blonde man and mouthed “tough it up.” Spike mouthed something about “punish cheeky gits” that Xander didn’t quite understand until much later when he found himself on his knees on the bed, his head down on the pillows and his hands bound behind his back while Spike slowly fucked him into sweet bliss.   
  
***  
  
The next morning Spike woke Xander up early with a mind-rending blowjob followed by a slap on the butt and orders to hit the shower. Xander was just beginning to process reality once the dryers started.  
  
The rest of the morning passed in a speedy blur as Spike hurried them to the galley where Xander got breakfast around for the crew and Spike checked in with the bridge. Everyone seemed to be in hyper-drive as the crew was in and out of the galley in record time with no small talk or gossip.   
  
Xander was just finishing stowing the dishes from breakfast when he felt the _DeSoto_ enter atmosphere and then the stabilizers engage. Suddenly Xander felt queasy and it had nothing to do with Wesley’s flying. _Hyperion!_ Xander finally let himself think of what that meant. _I’m going to meet Angel, otherwise known as Angelus!_  
  
Xander tried to control the fear that was slowly spreading out from his stomach to his extremities. Angelus has been the Biogen that had started it all. He had been the first one to break from his “programming” and he had killed and tortured every pure human in his path for decades.   
  
The Council had whole histories documenting the carnage Angelus had left. Angelus was said to have killed the entire Travers line, all their associates, their associates children and anyone who’d ever had even met the Travers. Their were vids showing Angelus laughing while covered in gore while his victims were still moaning in they last dying moments. As part of Xander’s training he’d watched those vids. He’d seen the photos of mutilated children and desiccated women.  
  
Xander rushed to the sink and disgorged his recently consumed breakfast. _I can’t,_ he thought. _I can’t meet and make nice with Angelus or Angel or whatever he calls himself these days!_ Xander retched again and then wiped and rinsed his mouth.  
  
The ship was quickly decelerating. Xander sat down at the table. _Willow_ _!_ Xander thought. _Willow_ _, I can’t do this!_  
  
There was a small jolt as the ship came to graceful halt and Xander recognized the heavy pull and feel of planetside gravity even as he felt the heaviness of dread settle around him.   
  
“Pet,” Spike voice came softly from the door of the galley.  
  
Xander looked up at Spike.  
  
“You all right?” Spike asked as he stepped in the galley and wrinkled his nose at the smell of Xander’s recently sour stomach.  
  
Xander stared at Spike. _I’m Lt. Xander LaVelle Harris and I’m Spike’s pet,_ Xander thought. _I can do this._  
  
“Fine,” Xander answered.  
  
Spike moved to Xander, reached out and brushed his knuckles over Xander’s cheek. “Really, pet?”  
  
Xander rubbed his face against Spike hand and said, “Really.”  
  
“Then let’s do this, Xan,” Spike said as he held out Xander’s shoes in his other hand. “Let’s go see Angel.”

**TBC**


	18. (18/43 plus Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lt. “Xander” Harris and Captain William the Bloody have both suffered and lost in the on going war between the Biogens and Council. Now, Xander finds himself a prisoner of Captain William the Bloody (aka Spike). What will be Xander’s fate?

_“You all right?” Spike asked as he stepped in the galley and wrinkled his nose at the smell of Xander’s recently sour stomach.  
  
Xander stared at Spike_. I’m Lt. Xander LaVelle Harris and I’m Spike’s pet, _Xander thought._ I can do this.  
  
 _“Fine,” Xander answered.  
  
Spike moved to Xander, reached out and brushed his knuckles over Xander’s cheek. “Really, pet?”  
  
Xander rubbed his face against Spike hand and said, “Really.”  
  
“Then let’s do this, Xan,” Spike said as he held out Xander’s shoes in his other hand. “Let’s go see Angel.”_  


_*****************************************************************************************************************************  
_

_  
_While Xander had put his shoes on he took the time to surreptitiously ogle Spike. Biogens didn’t have standard uniforms like the Council. Yet when they wanted to stand out and be noticed they did have a “look” that screamed predator and enhanced human. From the first moment Xander had seen him, Spike looked like a predator and a Biogen. However, now that he was on Hyperion Spike’s walk and demeanor was even more commanding. Spike was raw power and sensual grace. Spike could walk among lions and be held as equally beautiful, alluring and dangerous. To cap off the look Spike was wearing the long black leather coat and it draped him like a favorite lover.  
  
Xander had grown hard and wanting. _I’ve given myself to this man…this wild creature,_ Xander had thought. _When ever he asks I offer myself to him like some sort of feast or sacrifice._  
  
“Pet,” Spike had whispered huskily as he bent down to get closer to Xander and the wonderful smell of want rolling off his boy, “I don’t know what’s stoked yer fires but we have to save it for later. Angel’s waiting.”  
  
Xander had blushed and then muttered. “Damn Biogen senses. Can’t a guy get a hard-on in private?”  
  
Spike had made a show of sniffing there and then replied, “Maybe others but not you, pet. I love that sweet perfume of desire you put out only for me and I’ll notice it every time. Ya have my word on it.”  
  
Xander had groaned. “Damn it, Spike!”  
  
Spike had chuckled and then said, “Now finish getting your kit together!”  
  
Xander had pictured the numerous lectures from Giles in his head regarding the thirteen bylaws of Council doctrine while Xander had put on his shoes. Xander had been determined not to have every Biogen, and especially Angel, know Xander’s state of arousal.  
  
Once Xander had pulled himself together he followed Spike to the cargo area where the rest of the crew waited. There seemed to be an air of ease and excitement Xander had never noticed among the crew of the _DeSoto._  Fred was beaming, Faith was radiant, Wesley’s posture was almost less than stiff and Gunn had a grin from ear to ear.  
  
“It’s good to be home,” Gunn had announced.  
  
The rest of the crew laughed.  
  
“It will be wonderful to take a real shower with _hot_ water and no time limit,” observed Wesley.  
  
“Oh, and the tools and the equipment!” Fred chimed.  
  
“Men, the sweet alcoholic buzz and all the shimmying this girl can take,” Faith purred.  
  
“And that’s a lot,” rejoined Gunn.  
  
Once again the crew laughed.  
  
“Well, not meaning to rain on anyone’s parade, but first we have to visit Angel,” interjected Spike.  
  
“Well, not meaning to bust your bubble, Captain,” Faith said, “but I think you’re going to have the longer visit with the bossman then us.”  
  
Again the crew laughed.  
  
“Oi!” mock growled Spike. “Open the bay doors!”  
  
Gunn reached over and punched the manual release on the bay doors. Once again the _DeSoto_ opened up and let her crew disembark.  
  
Hyperion surprised Xander for his first glimpse. Xander had expected to see another colony world like Oxnard but Hyperion was different. There were multiple buildings, signs of advance industrialization, and agriculture. The streets were well maintained and there was an equal mix of well organized pedestrian and hovercraft traffic.  
  
Xander was also overwhelmed with people on Hyperion. As the crew moved out and away from the ship and down one of the walkways Xander noted the dense population. Every where Xander looked there were Biogens. Xander had never seen so many Biogens except in battle vids. Xander clenched his jaw until it ached. He felt exposed and naked in this crowd. Xander felt like he had really only Spike to keep him safe if the Biogens turned could Spike be enough?  
  
Spike could read the tension in his boy and he understood. Xander was literally in the lion’s den and many of the lion’s were noticing. It wasn’t just the collar Xander still wore that was drawing the attention of other Biogens, the collars weren’t uncommon on Hyperion, it was Xander himself.  
  
Most Biogens were well acquainted with the vids of the current prime Regent and her inner circle but they had to be even more aware of Xander since his capture. Spike knew what Xander didn’t; Buffy had offered a large reward for information Xander’s whereabouts or his safe return. Rumors were she was even trying to get the Council to authorize a pardon for anyone for any crime for Xander’s return.  
  
Spike knew no Biogen on Hyperion was interested in a Council reward but they might be plenty interested in sending a very personal message to Buffy and the Council via Xander. While, Angel had begun to change the nature of the war and begun to lay down the law, a Biogen law, regarding the treatment of _pure_ humans and prisoners of war Spike knew the old ways died hard. _If it was the bloody poofter I might not even follow them,_ Spike inwardly acknowledged.  
  
Xander felt Spike’s hand reach out and caress Xander’s neck and collar. While the touch was light Xander held no illusion that it wasn’t about affection as much as it was about sending a message of possession.  
  
As they walked Xander itched to be able to take a more assertive stance or role. Submitting himself to Spike in bed was one thing, walking down the street of Hyperion like some sort of well trained puppy dog was another. _Even if I did have a weapon,_ Xander thought, _I couldn’t use it!_  
  
“Spike, is the collar really necessary?” Xander asked as he pulled away from Spike’s touch and straightened his shoulders determined to send a message of his own.  
  
“Pet…,” Spike began and noticed the added tension and the further distance Xander tried to put between himself and Spike. “Xander, all prisoners are required to wear a collar on Hyperion.”  
  
“Why? We’re…I’m obviously out numbered and as you like to point out helplessly outmatched,” Xander quipped back making a point to who was ever watching to meet Spike’s gaze and adopt body language that screamed anything but submissive.  
  
Spike stifled a groan. _Why did I ever think the git would be easier to handle once he was properly shagged and claimed?_ Spike thought.  
  
“Because, Xander, you may be my pet but you are still Council and a lot of mates here have reason to hate, fear and suspect anyone and anything related to the Council. The collar puts them at ease knowing you aren’t likely to do something monumentally stupid like shoot up a crowded place or blow-up a building.”  
  
“Those are Biogen tactics,” replied Xander all too well remembering his history vid of the attack on the Council Headquarters in New London at the start of the war. The Biogens had almost wiped out all of the Council then.  
  
“And that’s why we fear them. We know they work and as slow as the Council is they could adopt them.”  
  
Xander stopped walking for a moment and stared at Spike. Xander couldn’t ever imagine using terrorist tactics but Spike had a point. Those first few years in the Biogen war had seen high civilian causalities and generated almost incapacitating fear among the pure human populations. Couldn’t those tactics be just as devastating on Hyperion?  
  
“I’m a soldier, not a terrorist, Spike,” Xander said quietly.  
  
Spike paused and returned Xander’s gaze. “I know that, pet, but the rest of the mates here don’t. The collar helps the mates here feel safe and it keeps you safe.”  
  
“How does it keep me safe?”  
  
“Angel has strictly enforced rules. Prisoners are not to be harmed, tortured or killed. While you wear that collar everyone here knows you a prisoner and while you can be detained and be confined you won’t be hurt. Angel’s made a rather pointed and messy spectacle of those who’ve gone against him on that point.”  
  
Xander narrowed his eye and studied Spike. _That doesn’t sound like Angelus,_ Xander thought. _Spike’s describing almost_ human _behavior and Angelus have never even been in the neighborhood of human.  
  
_ “’Sides,” Spike said hoping to distract Xander and get him moving again, “I kind of like ya in a collar.”  
  
Xander rolled his eye, “You would.”  
  
“Makes you look like what you are,” Spike continued.  
  
“And that would be?” asked Xander.  
  
“An exotic pet,” replied Spike with a smile.  
  
“Ok, Captain Crazy, let’s review. I’m not a dog, not a cat, and not some Slytherin from Rowling VI.”  
  
Spike reached out and lightly stroked Xander’s neck. “Never said you were.”  
  
Xander couldn’t help but lean into Spike’s touch. _Oh no Xan-man, that wasn’t meek and submissive at all,_ Xander thought.  
  
“You’re my pet,” Spike continued, “and that’s as exotic and rare as they come…”  
  
Spike then bent down and whispered very softly into Xander’s ear, “…and you do come don’t you pet…and come often.”  
  
Xander groaned and bit his lip. _Damn Biogen!_ Xander thought. _Never plays fair!_  
  
Spike chuckled and pulled away from Xander but not without a gentle nudge to get Xander walking again.  
  
“That’s settled,“ Spike said cheerily as they approached the largest building Xander  had seen yet on Hyperion. “I’ll have to get you a collar for when you know longer need to wear the restraining collar.”  
  
“And I’ll just wear shirts with a neckline to cover it,” replied Xander.  
  
Spike grinned. _A nice silver chain to drape around his neck and over his collar bone,_ Spike thought as he steered Xander toward the entrance of the large building. _I’ll get something shiny to wear against that beautiful skin. I’ll get something precious to show anyone who notices how valuable Xander is._  
  
Xander’s attention soon turned from the thoughts of a collar to his impending meeting with Angel as he and the rest of the crew entered the large building. Once again, Xander was shocked. While the building was large, and apparently Angel’s headquarters, there were relatively few people inside. In fact Xander could only spot one person in the lobby. She was a slim woman with long blonde hair and she sat behind a desk filing her nails. She also wore a collar like Xander’s.  
  
When the woman noticed the _DeSoto_ crew she leaped up from behind the desk with a startling screech and came charging.  
  
“Blonndddieee Beaaarrr!” the woman screamed as she launched herself at Spike.  
  
 _Blondie Bear?_ Xander thought and then tried to fight down the jealous rush as Spike caught the woman around the waist and swung her around before setting her down on her feet again.  
  
“Harm,” Spike said quietly.  
  
“Tell me you’re staying longer this time,” Harm said.  
  
“Don’t know how long I’ll be around, luv,” Spike answered.  
  
“Well surely you’ll be around long enough to catch up on old times?” Harm asked as she twirled her manicured finger towards Spike’s chest.  
  
“Hi, I’m Xander,” Xander said as he moved in between Spike’s chest and the blonde woman’s encroaching finger. Spike remained very quiet and still. _Oi, this all could conk out right bloody quick,_ Spike thought.  
  
“I know,” Harm said as she studied Xander. “You’re the one that’s got Angel in such a snit lately.”  
  
“HARMONY!” a voice bellowed from an office to the left of the crew. “HARMONY! What happened to my shirts?!”  
  
Before Xander could process that he was the cause of Angel being in a “snit”, or that the girl in front of him was really called “Harmony” and not Harm which implied a certain level of endearment and intimacy with Spike as did her encroaching finger or even that there was a an issue at hand about shirts, Angel himself appeared from the office doorway to the left. Xander’s heart skipped a beat.  
  
“Harmony!” Angel barked again as he tugged at a shirt that kept wanting to slide up above his waist and expose his belly button. “What happened to my shirts?!”  
  
“Oh,” Harmony said as she turned her attention from Spike and Xander to Angel, “the laundry pick-up was late boss and I know how you hate to wait so I went ahead and did them for you last night. It was no trouble. No need to thank me.”  
  
“Thank you!” bellowed Angel as he charged over to the young woman. For a brief moment Xander wondered if Angel would remember his own so called rules.  
  
“No need boss,” the girl smiled and patted Angel’s cheek. “Anytime!”  
  
Gunn and the rest of the crew turned their heads to hide their smirks and cover their laughter. Spike did neither.  
  
“Right, Angel. No need to thank her!” Spike laughed. Angel shot Spike a murderous gaze and Xander didn’t know whether to back up into Spike to help cover him or to remain perfectly still an not have the gaze fall on him.  
  
“Well, William,” Angel snarled, “since you find it so funny maybe you could go shopping for some new shirts for me?”  
  
“Oh, sir, could I?” Spike cheerily replied. “Please?”  
  
Angel growled as if he suddenly realized how bad an idea that really was. “Harmony!” Angel barked again.  
  
“Yes, boss?”  
  
“Would you please go see Johnson and get me another set of shirts?”  
  
“Boss?” Harmony asked with quiver to her voice.  
  
“You did a fine job, Harmony, I just feel like I need some new shirts,” Angel said.  
  
“Oh, right!” Harmony said. “Man in power. Always has to look sharp and in control.”  
  
“Right,” said Angel. “And Harm, let Johnson pick out the shirts. He knows I’m a special orders customer. No need for you to go out of your way.”  
  
“It’s no trouble, boss.”  
  
“Really, Harmony,” Angel said. “You’ve done enough.”  
  
Harmony smiled. “Ok then. I’m off!”  
  
And with that Harmony flounced to her desk, pulled out her accessory bag, and left the building. Meanwhile the crew of the _DeSoto_ regained their composure, except for Spike who was still grinning at Angel.  
  
“Spike!” Angel barked as he headed back to the office on the left. “My office, now.”  
  
Spike casually strolled out from behind Xander and followed Angel. Angel paused and turned to look at Xander and then said, “You too, Xander”  
  
Xander took a deep breath and followed Spike and Angel. Spike waited at the door for Xander and followed him inside and pulled the door shut behind them. Angel was already seated at the desk.  
  
“And don’t be surprised if the Council restricts shipping licenses for the Wash colony in the next few days as their representative has been slow in signing the new Council articles for colony industry,” a familiar voice blared over the office’s internal comm system.  
  
Xander frowned. That sounded like Cordelia Chase with the very popular news show “The Chase with Cordelia Chase.”  Every night the beautiful and popular Cordelia would give her take on how the war was going.  
  
“Why do you listen to that rubbish?” Spike asked as Angel leaned forward to turn off the comm system.  
  
“Cordelia’s very informative,” Angel said, “If you know what to listen for.”  
  
Spike rolled his eyes and plopped down on a couch across from Angel’s desk. Spike then patted a cushion next to him indicating for Xander to sit. Xander did and then stared at Angel who in turned stared at Xander.  
  
Finally Angel’s gaze turned back to Spike, “William, you never cease to cause me problems you know that?”  
  
“Wot?” Spike replied.  
  
“First you take Xander prisoner, something definitely not in the scope of your mission…”  
  
“Oi! I told you!” Spike interrupted. “The git made it impossible to take the cargo without taking him.”  
  
“Then you don’t release him as ordered,” Angel continued. Xander frowned. _When had Angel ordered Spike to release him?_  
  
“And now you are sleeping with him!”  Angel concluded.  
  
“Listen you daft pilchard, I told you by the time he could have been released it was too late. He knew too much!”  
  
“And that’s why you had to sleep with him?”  
  
“Hey!” Xander interrupted. “Him’s still here.”  
  
Angel turned his gaze back to Xander and then once again dismissed him.  
  
“Why I slept with Xander is none of your business,” Spike replied.  
  
“It very much is my business!” barked Angel. “We’re in a war here and Xander happens to be a very important player!”  
  
 _Me?_ Xander thought. _I’m an important player? And if I am why are you dismissing me you arrogant bonehead!_  
  
Xander studied the leader of the Biogens. He was every bit as big and tall as the vids made him appear to be. His hair was dark and thick. _Almost as thick as his forehead¸_ Xander observed. While Spike moved with a feline grace; Angel moved like and unstoppable force. Angel’s movements were smooth and graceful but all one really noticed was the power and strength behind them.  
  
“Xander’s not a main player in this fight,” Spike said. “His own people have foolishly marginalized him.”  
  
“You think so?” replied Angel. “And that’s why the prime Regent has ordered stepped up attacks and routs on outlying colonies?”  
  
“Wot?” replied Spike  
  
 _What?_ Xander silently wondered.  
  
“Buffy has made it very clear she wants Xander back and unharmed.”  
  
“Well she can't have him,” replied Spike.  
  
“What?” It was Angel’s turned to ask the question.  
  
“He’s mine and I’m not giving him up!” replied Spike.  
  
“Oh yes you are!”  
  
“You and what army, Angelus?” Spike hissed as he leaned forward fully in game face.  
  
Angel leaned back and sighed. “William, look at the bigger picture.”  
  
“What bigger picture?”  
  
“I’ve negotiated…”  
  
“You’ve negotiated! How?” interrupted Spike.  
  
“An intermediary,” answered Angel. “Look. It doesn’t matter how. What does matter is that in the negotiations the Regent and I have agreed on a short truce _if_ Xander is returned unharmed.”  
  
“A truce!” Spike growled. “You really have gone balmy! No way will the Council honor a truce!”  
  
“They will if the Regents _and_ the cyber mages won’t fight. And they won’t, if Xander is returned unharmed.”  
  
“No!” growled Spike.  
  
 _Buffy and_ _Willow_ _are willing to call a truce, for me?_ Xander thought.  
  
“Spike, a truce means for the first time we might have a chance to find a diplomatic end to this bloodbath.”  
  
“A bloodbath you started!” Spike pointed his finger at Angel.  
  
Xander was shocked to see Angel wince.  
  
“I know, William. I know. But you also know things have changed. _I_ have changed.”  
  
“And you expect every Biogen to change right along with you?” Spike yelled.  
  
“William, this is an old argument and we’ve settled it along time ago. You are with me. You had you’re chance to go against me and you didn’t.”  
  
“And maybe I will this time!” snarled Spike.  
  
“Because of Xander?” asked Angel with a hint of hurt and surprise in his voice.  
  
“Yes,” Spike answered simply.  
  
Angel sighed. “Spike….”  
  
“I’m not giving him up, Angelus,” Spike softly interrupted.  
  
“What about what I want?” Xander once again tried to include himself in the conversation.  
  
Both Biogens looked at Xander.  
  
“What do you want?” Angel finally asked.  
  
“I want Spike,” Xander said noting the joy that flitted across Spike’s face and then hated himself for the next words he was about to utter, “but if there’s a chance to end this war then I want that too.”  
  
***  
Trevor Lockely sat at the bar nursing his ale. He hated being back here on Hyperion but that’s where the run from Oxnard was headed and he couldn’t afford to pass up the chance for the credits and a few pieces of hard currency.  
  
Still, Lockely couldn’t forget this was Angel’s lair. This was the place where his little girl had gone and made a home until she disappered. Lockely took another drink. Sure he hadn’t been around much for his Kate but she had been his little girl and when she got the wild notion to join up with Angel at first he was for it. Anything to stick it to the Council but then she’d gone on a mission for that Biogen freak and she’d never been heard from again.  
  
Lockely slammed back his drink and pounded his glass on the counter.  
  
“Another!” Lockely barked gaining notice of the bar’s other patrons.  
  
“Easy,” the bartender soothed as he poured another drink.  
  
Lockely took a sip. _Wasn’t enough that bastard Angel had taken his little Kate,_ Trevor thought. _No, now the bastard’s got that one-eyed Council boy tucked all cozy as a bug in rug over there at Angel’s HQ!._  
  
”Murderin’ one-eyed bastards,” Lockely muttered.  
  
“What’s that you say?” a sallow haired Biogen smiled and approached the drunken Locklely.  
  
“Angel! He’s keeping company with some one-eyed Council boy his pet Spike picked up. Actually threatened to kill colonists on Oxnard if they touched him.”  
  
“Really? You don’t say?” drawled the smooth talking stranger. “What’s this Council ‘boy’ look like?”  
  
“Tall. Lean. Well-fed and soft like Council raised do. Dark hair. Said he’s name was Jesse,” replied Lockely.  
  
The stranger smiled and waved the bartender over. “Next round is on me.”  
  
Lockely looked up from his drink and eyed the stranger for the first time. “Thank you…” Lockely stumbled for a name.  
  
The stranger smiled again and held out his hand. “Caleb. And no, let me thank you!”

**TBC**


	19. (19/43 plus Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lt. “Xander” Harris and Captain William the Bloody have both suffered and lost in the on going war between the Biogens and Council. Now, Xander finds himself a prisoner of Captain William the Bloody (aka Spike). What will be Xander’s fate?

_“What do you want?” Angel finally asked.  
  
“I want Spike,” Xander said noting the joy that flitted across Spike’s face and then hated himself for the next words he was about to utter, “but if there’s a chance to end this war then I want that too.”_

*********************************************************************************************************************************

  
“What kind of ‘bait and switch’ statement is that, Xander?” Spike exploded.  
  
“There’s no ‘bait and switch,’” replied Xander. “I want you and I want an end to this monumentally fatal and wrong war.”  
  
“Well you can’t have ‘em both!” growled Spike.  
  
“Why not?” asserted Xander. “Why does this have to be an either or…Or?”  
  
“Because the Council will not stop until all Biogens are dead!”  
  
“How do you know that?!”  
  
“How can you…,” Spike blanched and then answered emphatically, “I know.”  
  
“Spike,” Angel gently interrupted, “We have to try.”  
  
“Why?” snarled Spike.  
  
“Because how long can we really last if this war goes on? There are only so many of Biogens and each casualty reduces our numbers.”  
  
“We’ll win in the end. Superior forces and all that rot,” answered Spike. _And there’s always Fred’s project,_ Spike thought but didn’t voice. “’Sides, more colonies are siding with us every day. We’ll survive.”  
  
“At what cost, Spike?” Angel continued. “Even assuming no more Biogens die, what about the human cost of this conflict? How many _pure_ humans, Council and Biogen allies alike, have to die?”  
  
“I don’t bloody care!” shouted Spike.  
  
Angel sighed and Xander flinched.  
  
“Yes, you do,” Angel said softly. “You’ve had enough of the killing as I have…”  
  
“So wot? I lose both Dru and Xander to this war?” Spike asked.  
  
“Hey,” Xander said reaching out to touch Spike’s hand, “Who says you have to lose me?”  
  
“Pet, you think you can just pop back in for tea and be home in time for din-dins? You go back to your mates and they won’t let you go. You try and they’ll think you gone round the bends or you’re a grass.”  
  
“They’ll think I’m foliage?” Xander asked perplexed.  
  
“Oi, a traitor!” Spike tried not to let the spark of humor at Xander’s befuddlement creep in and ruin his rant.  
  
“Oh,” Xander said and briefly smiled and then continued. “Well maybe I have.”  
  
“Have wot?” Spike asked.  
  
“Gone a little crazy,” replied Xander.  
  
It was Spike’s turn to flinch.   
  
“I mean,” Xander continued as he pointed back and forth between himself and Spike, “All this between us has happened fast. It’s happened while I was your prisoner…”  
  
“Pet,” Spike softly warned.  
  
“Hear me out,” Xander pressed on. “I’m not saying I regret it or it’s not real but maybe it would be good to have some time and distance. Perspective. Make sure this isn’t just some sort of…”  
  
Spike quickly put a hand on the back of Xander’s neck and gently but forcefully pulled Xander to him until they were face to face.  
  
“I warned you, pet. You let me have you, I wouldn’t let you go. I’ve _tasted_ you,” Spike breathed into Xander’s opened mouth, “I’ve _tasted_ all of _you_ and you’re mine. End of discussion.”  
  
Xander stared up into Spike’s cerulean blue eyes flecked with gold while breathing in the scent and breath of his angry and possessive Biogen. Xander licked his lips.  
  
“I’m not arguing with you about belonging with you. I _am_ yours,” Xander began, “but I’m also Lt. Xander Harris and if there’s a chance to end this war then I’m obliged by my oath and my own humanity to try.”  
  
“I could tie you up, lay stripes to you, play with you, and leave you hot and wanting until all you knew was me!” Spike threatened. “You’d be begging for me to take you and this ballsed-up war would be the last thing on yer mind!”  
  
 _A few nights with a Biogen and Xan-man is Slut-man,_ Xander thought as he felt himself harden in response to Spike’s threat. _Ok, not just any Biogen but Spike!_  
  
“Yes, you could,” Xander softly acknowledged as he leaned into Spike making it very easy for Spike to smell Xander’s arousal and need. “But when all the sweating, hoopla and naughty touching was over I’d still be back to arguing with you about this.”  
  
Angel watched the play between the two men and felt his own reactions to the heat, desire and testosterone filling the room. The smell of Spike’s need was bringing back sweet memories to Angel and he felt his own response growing. Angel’s darker nature even wanted to claim Xander. _Xander’s the key to reclaiming William,_ the Angelus side of Angel whispered. _Take him and William will follow you just as before._  
  
Spike slipped into his enhanced face and began to devour Xander in a passionate kiss.  
  
“WILLIAM!” Angel barked desperate to stop where the scene before him was heading before he felt himself pulled too far along by the riptide of his and Spike’s lust and emotions.  
  
Spike was nearly lost in the taste and feel of his pet and the need to assert his dominance. Yet, his history with Angelus was too long and too emotional not to respond to the barked command. With more discipline and speed then he knew he had, Spike suddenly released a confused, and for the moment, completely submissive Xander.   
  
“Come here,” Angel ordered.   
  
Spike moved away from Xander and stood next to Angel. Xander licked his lips and blinked trying to refocus.  
  
“Xander,” Angel said softly. “Why, don’t you see if Harmony is back? Ask her to show you to Spike’s room.”  
  
“We’re not finis…” Xander tried to argue.  
  
“Pet,” Spike said, “let’s take a fiver.”  
  
Xander looked at the two Biogens. Something about the way Spike was suddenly being deferential to Angel had Xander uneasy. _And something about the way Angel’s looking at Spike,_ Xander thought _is putting Little Xander in a bad mood._  
  
Xander stood and quickly crossed over to Spike. Before either Biogen could react, Xander placed a soft kiss on Spike’s lips.  
  
“I’ll be waiting for you,” Xander said to Spike and then shot a look at Angel. _Back off,_ Xander thought. _Spike’s my big bad, Bio-Boy!_ Xander then turned and left.  
  
***  
  
“Ya think you can do it?” Caleb asked one of his new recruits.  
  
“Certainly,” the dark haired Biogen smiled.  
  
“Good,” Caleb said. “Once you have the Council boy, Xander, away from Angel’s HQ then be sure to get rid of the collar.”  
  
The other Biogen arched an inquisitive eyebrow.  
  
“They’ll be able to track the boy with the collar,” Caleb answered the unasked question.  
  
The other Biogen smiled again, nodded, and then asked, “What does, Xander look like?”  
  
It was Caleb’s turn to smile, “Ya can’t miss him. He’s tall, lanky, dark haired and sportin’ a souvenir from our last meeting.”  
  
“Souvenir?”  
  
“He’s missing an eye,” Caleb said and then noted the other man's puzzled look. “It offended me.”  
  
Caleb then waved his hand gesturing for the other Biogen to get moving. The other Biogen nodded and then moved toward the door.  
  
“I hate unfinished business,” Caleb began to speak again and the other Biogen stopped. “Don’t fail me, Gavin.”  
  
“Yes, sir,” Gavin said and then quickly made his way out of the room.  
  
***  
  
Xander stepped back out into the lobby. There was no sign of Harmony but Faith was perched on Harmony’s desk.  
  
“You survived,” she observed.  
  
“It’s not over,” Xander answered.  
  
“Then why are you out here?”  
  
“Apparently things were getting too much for, Bio-Boy,” Xander answered.  
  
Faith laughed. “You know in his day he killed people for much less?”  
  
“You think I care?” Xander asked ignoring the ball sized pit in his stomach. “Besides I thought he was the reformed Angel? All on the side of humanity and such.”  
  
“Oh he is,” Faith said. “But jealousy can have an odd affect on even the meekest of men.”  
  
“J-j-jealously?” asked Xander.  
  
“Suppose you’re staying with Spike,” Faith said as she popped down off the desk. “C’mon, I’ll show you to his rooms.”  
  
Faith began to saunter towards some lift doors. Xander stumbled after her.  
  
“What do you mean, ‘jealousy?’” asked Xander.  
  
“Mmm-hmm,” Faith said. “You need to ask Spike.”  
  
Faith and Xander stepped into the lift.   
  
“Third floor,” Faith said and after a few moments’ delay the lift began to ascend.   
  
“I will tell you, though,” Faith offered, “you are who Spike wants.”  
  
“Why are you telling me this?” Xander asked. “Why are you hinting about some past relationship between Spike and Angel and then trying to reassure me that I’m the one Spike wants? This a new head game?”  
  
Faith smiled and shook her head. “I don’t want any more emotional land minds blowing up in your faces. It was bad enough on a small ship with just the crew of the _DeSoto_. Things get out of whack on a planet full of Biogens…”  
  
The lift stopped and the doors opened. Faith stepped out letting her sentence trail off. Xander followed thinking about what the former Regent was saying.   
  
_Still,_ Xander thought, _what am I supposed to do with this information? Sit in Spike’s room wondering if he’s playing ‘hide the sausage’ with Angel? Or am I supposed to play twenty questions when Spike gets back and hope that one plus one doesn’t equal three or worse; zero?_  
  
Faith stopped outside a door and waved her hand over a bioscan lock. The locked clicked and Faith opened the door. Xander looked questioningly at Faith.  
  
“Angel doesn’t like Spike late for a meeting no matter how hung over. We learned a long time ago it was best if I and Wes had access to Spike’s room for those times when he just couldn’t get out of bed on his own.”  
  
“Oh,” Xander said. “Did…does that happen often?”  
  
“Not so much,” Faith smiled while looking at Xander. “Well not so much _anymore_.”  
  
Faith then gestured Xander inside. Xander sighed. _Guess I’m CM whether I’m on the ship or not,_ Xander thought and stepped into the room. The room was large and airy with light streaming through the windows. The room was tidy and looked to be a much larger sitting area then on the _DeSoto._ It also had a larger bar.  
  
“See ya later,” Faith said and then shut the door behind her. Xander whirled around. Suddenly he felt alone and claustrophobic despite the room’s size. Xander rushed to the door and tugged on the handle expecting it to be locked. The door swung open easily. Xander poked his head out into the hall.  
  
“Need something?” Faith asked halfway back to the lift.  
  
“Is it ok if I leave?” Xander asked.  
  
Faith nodded. “But, where would you go?”  
  
“I…,” Xander drew a blank. “I just needed to know.”  
  
Faith smiled. “It’ll be ok, Xander.”  
  
Xander nodded, stepped back in the room and shut the door. Xander turned around and looked once again at the room. _Well,_ he thought, _guess there’s only one thing to do; snoop while I wait for Spike._  
  
***  
  
Angel stood up and moved to the mini-bar in his office. He poured himself a drink, downed it and then poured another. He walked back over to Spike and handed him the glass. Spike slipped back into his human face and looked at Angel. Spike took the glass.  
  
“Here’s to the red of it,” Spike said and then slammed the drink back. Angel stood close and took the glass from Spike’s hand and put it on the desk.  
  
The two men stood staring at each other breathing in their scent mixed with the sweet tang of the alcohol on their breaths. Angel stepped closer to Spike until their heat combined and enveloped them. Angel leaned down and brushed his lips softly against Spike’s.   
  
Spike stood there for a moment reveling in the feel of Angel’s lips against his own. Then Spike brought his hands up and smoothed them through Angel’s hair and gently tugged him away.   
  
Angel smiled and relinquished the kiss but touched his forehead to Spike’s. Once again the two men stared at each other.  
  
“You always were a nancy boy, you know that?” Spike asked.  
  
“I couldn’t let you go without a good-bye kiss,” Angel said softly.  
  
“But you will let me go?”   
  
“If this is what you want,” Angel answered.  
  
“You know it wouldn’t have worked…” Spike tried to say.  
  
“Just answer the question, William. Is this thing with Xander what you want?”  
  
“Aye,” Spike said.  
  
Angel tipped his head up, closed his eyes, placed a final soft kiss on Spike’s forehead and then stepped away from the blonde man. Spike released his hold on Angel. The two men parted and each calmed their bodies and emotions in their own way. Finally, Angel moved back to sit at his desk and Spike perched on the corner.  
  
“You know there’s plenty of room on the couch,” Angel said pointedly.  
  
“Yeah, but this annoys you more,” Spike smiled.  
  
“I want an end to this war,” Angel said.  
  
“I’m not sacrificing Xander to do it,” Spike said.  
  
Angel sighed. “Spike, we have to do something and something soon.”  
  
“Why the rush? Surely the blonde bint, Buffy isn’t doin that much damage?”  
  
“The danger doesn’t just lie with the Council.”  
  
“Then wot?”  
  
“We might be facing an internal rebellion.”  
  
“WOT!” Spike said as he hopped off the desk and began to pace the office. “Who? You just give me a name and I’ll rip their spleen and other soft parts out!”  
  
Angel smiled. _Spike may be a pain in the ass and now my ex-lover,_ Angel thought, _but he’s still loyal._  
  
“A Biogen named Caleb,” Angel answered.  
  
Spike froze briefly and then there was an explosion of movement as Spike slipped into game face, grabbed Angel and threw him up against the wall.  
  
“You tell me where he is!” Spike snarled.  
  
Before Angel’s back had hit the wall he had slipped into his own game face and even as Spike was snarling his question Angel slammed his head forward and knocked Spike backward. There was a snarling tangle of bodies and then Angel had an enraged and bloodied Spike pinned to the wall.  
  
“You’ve got the span of ten heartbeats to tell me what this is all about, William,” growled Angel, “and the count started five beats ago!”  
  
“Bloody bastard is the nob that ripped out Xander’s eye!” yelled Spike as he brought his knee and slammed it into Angel’s stomach. Angel grunted and used both hand to clench Spike’s throat and shake the enraged Biogen.  
  
“I’ll not warn ye again William!” shouted Angel as he continued to shake Spike. “Calm down or I’ll bind you and strip yer skin off startin’ with the soles of yer feet! Now wot’s this about Caleb and Xander?”  
  
Something of Spike’s predicament seemed to seep past his rage and through to his rational mind. Angel had slipped into the unconscious brogue of Angelus. Memories, fears and programming from long ago unconsciously took hold and Spike went limp and obedient in Angel’s hands.  
  
“Caleb killed Xander’s best mate and ripped out his eye a year ago while they were on a routine mission to check out a Council relay station. They were not a threat to Caleb. I mean to kill him, Angelus.”  
  
Angel slowly relaxed his grip and struggled to get his breathing and darker impulses under control. _I’m not the beast I once was,_ Angel internally recited. _I can control my darker emotions. I can **choose** to be a better man then the Council **made** me._  
  
Spike eased back into his human face and remained passive. Slowly, Angel released Spike and once again stepped away from the other man.  
  
“Caleb’s been recruiting those Biogens who want a return to the wanton bloodshed,” Angel said softly. “They believe in the utter superiority of Biogens and that humans should be subjugated. And worse, he’s recruiting those who are just tired of the war. Those who just want it over by any means necessary.”  
  
“Do you know where he is?” Spike asked softly.  
  
“He moves around, but there are reports he has been on Hyperion.”  
  
Spike hissed. “I mean what I said, Angel.”  
  
“I know, Spike. Though you just can’t kill him without a trial.”  
  
“Bloody hell, Angel! I just told you he violated one of own your laws and now you say he’s plotting treason and you want to give him a trial?”  
  
“We are going to do this the right way, Spike. We find him, arrest him if we can, and try him. I’m not allowing either of us to go back to the assassination game.”  
  
Spike sat down.   
  
“Do you have any leads at all?”  
  
“There are rumors he makes contacts at a local bar.”  
  
“Which one?”  
  
“Not sure yet. There are a couple of options: The Black Thorn and The Groosalugg.”  
  
“Well then,” Spike said as he stood up.  
  
“Spike,” Angel said, “We’re not just going to go barging in there.”  
  
“Why the bloody hell not?”  
  
“Because we’re too well known. You or I set foot in there then Caleb or any people he has working there will relocate. We wait.”  
  
“For wot?” Spike asked.   
  
“For _my_ contacts to tell me he’s there.”  
  
“And what do we do in the mean time?”   
  
“We argue some more about letting Xander rendezvous with the Regent Prime and the Prefect…”  
  
“Wot about Caleb?”  
  
“…and you can tell me more about what happened between Caleb and Xander.”  
  
***  
  
The lobby was mostly empty by the time Harmony returned from her errand lugging several packages. Not only had she got the new shirts for Angel but she took the liberty of getting Xander some new clothes. _A worse fashion disaster couldn’t walk through that door,_ Harmony internally groused, _if Cordelia Chase herself walked in!  
  
_ Harmony could vaguely hear Spike and Angel arguing in the office. She sighed as he lugged some more. _Those two,_ she thought. _They fight more than most married couples. Sleep with each other more too!_  
  
“Here, let me help you,” a voice offered from behind Harmony and strong hands reached out and took hold of a few packages.  
  
“Thank you!” Harmony said cheerily as she reached her desk, put the rest of her load down and turned to see who her gallant savior was.   
  
A tall man with black hair who was too perfect not to be a Biogen smiled at her.   
  
“Hi,” he said as he laid his packages next to Harmony’s.  
  
“Hi,” she said back. “Can I help you?”  
  
“I hope so,” the man said. “I’m supposed to deliver a message.”  
  
“A message?” Harmony asked.  
  
“Yes, I have a message for a Xander.”  
  
“Oh! Yes! He’s Spike’s new friend. Last I saw he was in the office with Angel.”  
  
The man tilted his head as if he was listening.    
  
“Sounds like there are only two men in there right now,” the strange man replied.  
  
“Oh! Well he might be in Spike’s room,” offered Harmony.   
  
“Spike’s room?”   
  
“Yeah. It’s up on the third floor,” Harmony said.  
  
“Thank you,” smiled the man as he headed towards the lift.  
  
“Wait,” Harmony said. “You can’t go up there!”  
  
“I can’t?” the man asked as he stopped.   
  
“Not without clearance.”  
  
“How does one get clearance?” the man asked as he approached Haromny again.  
  
“Well, some one from the staff has to give it to you,” Harmony answered.  
  
The man smiled and reached out to tap Harmony’s nose. “Someone like you?  
  
Harmony giggled. “Oh not me. I’m just the receptionist.”  
  
“But you are part of the staff,” said the man.  
  
“Well, yeah.”  
  
“Then you could give me the clearance.”  
  
“Well," Harmony said as she titled her head tossing her head, "I don’t even know who you are.”   
  
“I’m Gavin,” the man said as he offered his hand to Harmony. She took it and he kissed the back of her knuckles. “And it’s a pleasure to meet you…Miss?”  
  
“Harmony. Just Harmony!”  
  
Gavin laughed.  
  
“Tell you what. You waive me on up so I can deliver my message and later I’ll meet you for a drink.”  
  
“Really? I mean that sounds great! Where?” asked Harmony.  
  
The man seemed to think for a minute and then smiled. “How about at a bar called ‘The Groosalaugg?”  
  
“Sure!” Harmony smiled. “What time?”  
  
“How about in two ship rotations?”  
  
“That’ll just give me enough time to figure out what to wear! Here!” Harmony said as she shoved some packages at Gavin. “Since you are going upstairs anyway. Give these to Xander. The door’s the second one on the left!”  
  
Gavin smiled and picked up the packages. “No problem. See you in a few!”  
  
Harmony started grabbing her bag and locking up drawers. “Only if I get home right now! I have just enough time to get ready.”  
  
Gavin turned and left Harmony to her dithering while he proceeded to the lift.

**TBC**


	20. (20/43 plus Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lt. “Xander” Harris and Captain William the Bloody have both suffered and lost in the on going war between the Biogens and Council. Now, Xander finds himself a prisoner of Captain William the Bloody (aka Spike). What will be Xander’s fate?

_Gavin turned and left Harmony to her dithering while he proceeded to the lift._

*****************************************************************************  
  
Xander eased the night stand drawer closed. _I’m not sure whether to blush,_ he thought, _or to take a cold shower._ Little Xander had his own ideas. Xander sat down on the bed. The drawer contained _things_ Xan had only seen in skin vids and some things he hadn’t seen at all.   
  
_What have I gotten myself into?_ Xander wondered. “Good times,” Little Xander seemed to reply as it twitched at the some of the images flashing through Xander’s mind. Xander groaned and adjusted himself.  
  
Then Xander thought about what Faith had said. _Were these Spike and Angel’s toys?_ Xander questioned bitterly. Little Xander wasn’t as happy with that idea or the new images flashing through Xander’s mind.  
  
“Damn!” Xander muttered aloud and ran his hand over his face. “Where are you, Spike? I need you.”  
  
A knock on the sitting room door answered Xander. Briefly the hope of it being Spike chased away Xander’s doubts but the hope was gone as he heard the light knock again. _Spike **might** have knocked once but not twice,_ Xander thought.  
  
“Yeah,” Xander said without opening the door. “Who is it?”  
  
“It’s Gavin,” the voice replied. “Harmony sent me up with some clothes and a message for you.”  
  
 _Who’s Gavin?_ Xander wondered as he opened the door to find a smiling Biogen holding out some packages. _Must work for Angel,_ Xander thought as he took the packages.   
  
“The message?” Xander prompted without inviting Gavin inside. _Not sure who is allowed in Spike’s rooms,_ Xander thought.  
  
“Well,” said Gavin not put off by the lack of invite. “Spike and Angel are going to be awhile yet. So, Spike thought you might like to see some of Hyperion. He asked me to take you out for awhile and show you around.”  
  
“Really?” Xander asked unsure what to think about the offer. _Does Spike want to get rid of me so he can have some time alone with Angel? Or is Spike just being nice?_  
  
“Look, Xander” Gavin said watching the unsure emotions play across the young man’s face, “Spike and Angel can go on for hours when they get together and debrief. They lock themselves away to figure out what they are going to do next. Spike just didn’t want you to sit up here all alone with nothing to do.”  
Xander smiled. The logic sounded familiar.  
  
“If it helps,” Gavin said sensing Xander was close to agreeing to leave with him, “I could make it an order.”  
  
Xander laughed. _Now that sounds like a message from Spike,_ Xander thought.   
  
“Mind if I change?” Xander asked wanting to put on clean clothes and hoping Harmony’s taste was better than her sense.  
  
“Not at all,” Gavin replied. “Though if you hurry, we might be able to catch the dinner crowd.”  
  
“The dinner crowd?” Xander asked as he pawed through the packages finding a silky green shirt and a pair of cream colored pants that might do well.   
  
“The thought was you might like a fresh meal; not one that was re-hydrated.”  
  
“Mmmm,” Xander couldn’t hide his pleasure at the thought of a fresh meal and one he didn’t to cook. “I’m in.”  
  
“Good,” Gavin said. “Look, I’ll wait in the hall while you change.”  
  
“BRB,” Xander said as he left the door open and headed off to the bedroom to change. Gavin waited just outside the door and smiled. _So far; so good,_ he thought.  
  
A few minutes later Xander stepped out of the bedroom and said, “Lead on!”  
  
 _Perfect,_ Gavin thought. _No muss, no fuss, and no trace._ Gavin returned Xander’s smile and lead him out of Spike’s rooms, through the empty lobby, and out of Angel’s HQ.  
  
***  
  
Fred paused a moment before opening the door. She took a deep breath, held it and then let it out. She was home. She’d done her job and kept the ship together. Spike had done his and brought her home. Fred smiled and then pushed the double doors open. Immediately the sterile air of a real lab teased her senses.  
  
“Fred!” a young man shouted in delighted greeting from behind a table as she stepped into the room. “You’re back!”  
  
“Knox,” Fred laughed. “I wonder if I should be insulted at how surprised you always sound when you see me.”  
  
“Well,” Knox chuckled, “you do lead the most adventurous life of us ‘geeks.’”  
  
Fred laughed again and walked to the table where Knox was still seated behind a microscope. “I prefer to think of it as ‘empirical analysis.””  
  
“Well as long as it doesn’t deprive our side of the greatest, and prettiest, mind in the galaxy,” Knox replied clumsily.  
  
Fred blushed. “So what are you working on?”  
  
“Oh,” Knox said scooting over so Fred could make her way around the table and peer through the eyepiece lens on the microscope. “Just following up on some work. Well work you started before you left.”  
  
“The special project?” Fred asked looking at Knox in surprise.  
  
Knox nodded.   
  
“Angel gave you permission?”   
  
“He might not want to admit, Fred, but if we can get it to work it might make the difference in the war.”  
  
“How close are you?” Fred asked.  
  
“Well it’s more like how close are you! I just followed up on the notes you left Angel in your proposal.”  
  
“And?”  
  
Knox smiled and pointed at the ‘scope. “See for yourself.”  
  
Fred leaned down and peered through the lens and gasped.  
  
“We’re close,” Knox said breathlessly. “We’re real close and with you back I know we’ll do it.”  
  
Fred continued to stare through the lens. _This could work,_ she thought. _This really could work!_  
  
“Close enough for a trial?” Fred asked.  
  
“Maybe,” Knox said.   
  
“Get me all your notes,” Fred said as she sat down. “I want to review everything. If this project is as far as it looks I want to start a trial as soon as possible.”  
  
“That might be a problem,” Knox said awkwardly.  
  
“What?” Fred said finally looking away from the ‘scope and back to Knox.  
  
“Angel authorized the go ahead for the research but he was very clear there would be no trials.”  
  
“What?” Fred asked again.  
  
“Fred, we do this we change everything. There’s no going back and while this could very well tip the balance of the war it could also escalate it.”  
  
“No,” Fred said vehemently. “We do this. We prove we can do this and the Council will have to rethink everything.”  
  
Knox sighed.  
  
“Look,” Fred said standing up and moving away from the table. “You get your notes ready. I want everything; what worked and what didn’t.”  
  
“Where are you going?”  
  
“To see Angel,” Fred said.   
  
***  
Walking the streets of Hyperion almost gave Xander the illusion of being home. The sights and smells of busy traffic and the rush of humanity all around Xander cocooned him in the familiar. However, it was the odd glimpse of a collar on some person neck or the too perfect smile on the face of an obvious Biogen that kept Xander from falling completely for the illusion.  
  
“Impressive isn’t it?” Gavin asked noting Xander’s intent fascination with his surroundings.  
  
“It’s not what I expected,” Xander replied.  
  
“More sophisticated?” Gavin asked.  
  
“Well that but to see so many Biogens and pure humans living and interacting together..without all the dying and butchering together,” Xander answered honestly. “I just…well you won’t see any vids of this at the academy.”  
  
“C’mon,” Gavin smiled and made a left down an alley. “We’re almost there.”  
  
“We are?” Xander said a bit dubiously as he followed Gavin down the alley.  
  
“”Hey, the best places are the hard to find ones,” quipped Gavin.  
  
Xander smiled. That was true in the ‘Dale. Ms. Calendar ran the best dessert shop in town, The Magic Box, but you had to know where to find it.  
  
Gavin continued to lead down the alley until he reached a small side door. Gavin opened the door, stepped aside and a made a sweeping gesture with his arm.  
  
“After you,” Gavin said.  
  
“Thank you,” Xander laughed and entered the building. Xander was immediately confused. Though the room he entered was well lit it was empty except for the sound of scurrying unidentified rodents of some sort and broken crates.  
  
“Uh Gavin?” Xander said confusedly, “are you sure you have the right….”  
  
Before Xander could finish his statement his neck was grabbed in a tight chock lock. _NO!_ Xander thought. _Not again! Fucking soulless Biogens!_   
  
Xander panicked as he felt himself losing his grip on consciousness as the blood to his brain was being cut off.  Xander began to kick and flail which sent a burst of pain into his head from the collar. The sharp and fierce pained combined with the lack of essentials to his brain quickly ushered Xander into oblivion.   
  
Gavin felt Xander go limp but he held his hold for a few more seconds insuring his prey was truly out. Once Gavin felt sure Xander was unconscious and not acting Gavin released his hold and allowed the young man to collapse to the floor.  
  
Quickly, Gavin moved over to one of the over turned crates and pulled out a bag from underneath it and then moved just as quickly back to Xander. Gavin grabbed a set of wrist bindings, a roll of industrial tape and a small tool out of the bag.  
  
Gavin then rolled Xander’s limp body over on to its stomach. Gavin grabbed Xander’s arms, pulled them behind his back and then secured his wrists together using the bindings. Then Gavin used the small tool to unlock the collar. Gavin removed the collar and threw it in the corner. Once again, Gavin rolled Xander’s over.  Gavin tore of a strip of the tape and used it to cover Xander’s mouth.   
  
“Just one more touch, Xander,” Gavin said as he pulled a still unconscious Xander into an upright position. Gavin grabbed the now empty bag and then pulled it over Xander’s face. Gavin smiled. _Caleb will be pleased,_ Gavin thought, _all trussed up and not a mark on him_. Carefully Gavin lowered Xander back to the floor.  
  
Gavin reached for the communicator in his pocket and pulled it out.  
  
“Ready for pick up,” Gavin said into the small device.  
  
***  
  
“Spike, the rendezvous with the Regent could be just the diplomatic opening we need,” Angel continued the same argument he and Spike had been engaged in for the last hour.  
  
“And how do you bloody well know it won’t be a trap? Your wonderful chance at diplomacy could turn out to be an ambush!”  
  
“They wouldn’t put Xander at risk like that,” Angel insisted.  
  
“They wouldn’t? They let him go off with that bleedin’ sod Riley didn’t they?” Spike countered.  
  
A knock on Angel’s door interrupted the argument. Before Angel could ask “who is it?” Fred strode into the room.  
  
“Why won’t you let us do a trial?” she asked Angel.  
  
“Fred,” Angel sighed. He’d hoped he could deal with one headache at a time.   
  
“Why let Knox go through all the effort doing the research and development from my notes if you weren’t going to let us do a trial?” Fred continued.   
  
“Knox’s has been working on your project?” Spike asked.  
  
Fred nodded.  
  
“Ya think it’ll work?”   
  
Fred smiled and nodded again.  
  
“Fred,” Angel tried again. “I wanted to know your project was viable, but I don’t want any trials. Should we have even one success it will change the dynamic of this war irreparably.”  
  
“Without a trial we won’t know the true viability of this project,” Fred countered.  
  
“I thought you indicated it would work,” Angel observed.  
  
“In a lab situation under controlled circumstances. A trial is the only way to know if it really will work.”  
  
“Bloody hell, Angel,” Spike said enthusiastically. “Do it! You know Gunn would be a kushty candidate.”  
  
Angel shot Spike a withering look. _Gunn might be too good of a candidate,_ Angel thought. _The Council would really short itself out if Gunn were a successful participant in this project._  
  
“Angel, please,” Fred piped in again. “You have to at least consider letting us do a trial.”  
  
Angel pinched the bridge of his nose. “I can only handle one of my two most stubborn, independent, loyal and argumentative followers at the same time.”  
  
Spike and Fred grinned.  
  
“Spike,” Angel said. “Why don’t you go check on Xander and let me go round three hundred and fifty-four with Fred?”  
  
“You’re goin’ down mate,” Spike observed as he stood up. “No one can survive Fred.”  
  
Fred smilled and rolled her eyes. “Oh get on. I’m not that bad.”  
  
“No, luv,” Spike said bending down to kiss the top of Fred’s head, “you’re that good.”  
  
Fred laughed and Spike left the room.   
  
“Have a seat,” Angel said pointing to the couch.  
  
Fred sat down. “Angel,…”  
  
Angel held up his hand halting Fred’s speech. “I know the arguments Fred. I do. I even agree with most of them, but you prove we can in some way pick up on Maggie Walsh’s work…something the Council hasn’t been able to do in nearly 200 years then we will have finally backed them into a corner.”  
  
“And they will have to listen to us,” Fred said.  
  
“Or they fear us even more,” Angel said.  
  
“We won’t even really know if it works without a trial,” Fred said.  
  
“Are you sure?”  
  
“Angel, if you mean this to be some sort of last ditch effort we have to know it works and we won’t know that without a trial,” Fred argued. “If you want to be absolutely sure, we have to test it on a real subject otherwise it’s just speculation and it may not work when you need it…if you need it.”  
  
“Go back to the lab,” Angel sighed again. “Review Knox’s notes.”  
  
“You’ll think about it?” Fred asked.  
  
“I’ll think about it,” Angel promised.   
  
Fred smiled and stood up. She moved to the door.  
  
“We can do this and nobody has to know,” Fred said.  
  
Angel shook his head and waved Fred out.  
  
***  
  
Xander came too with the feeling he was being suffocated. He opened his eye and saw only blackness. _I’m blind!_ Xander panicked. Then Xander registered the feel of the bag against his check. _I’m blindfolded,_ Xander silently amended.   
  
The feeling of suffocation was still with him. It was a combination of the bag over his head and the tape across his mouth. Xander was getting air but it was stuffy and was all being inhaled through his nose.  _Keep calm, Xan-man,_ Xander chided himself as he continued to take stock of his situation. He could feel his wrists were bound behind him. Xander tried to move his legs only to quickly discover he was cooped up in a small area. He could also feel movement.  
  
 _Back of a hovercraft?_  Xander wondered. He didn’t have to wonder long as there was a sudden halt. There were sounds of people moving and then the sound of the hovercraft hatch lid being lifted. Hands grabbed Xander’s arms and lifted him out of the back of the hovercraft.  
  
Xander stilled the urge to resist. _No more shocks,_ Xander thought. _Have to be alert._ Xander was half dragged and half led forward and through what he assumed was a doorway and a series of rooms. He could hear the muffled sounds of voices. Surprisingly, Xander could also detect the aroma of food and alcohol.   
  
_Maybe Gavin’s taking me to a really exclusive place?_ Xander half-heartedly hoped. Finally the tugging on Xander’s arms stoped and he was allowed to stand still. He heard the sound of a door shutting somewhere behind him.   
  
Xander could tell by the faint sounds of rustling and murmuring around him that there were other people in the room besides him and Gavin. Just as Xander noted the presence of others, the hold on his arms was released completely and he could hear the sound of someone withdrawing away from him even as someone else moved closer.  
  
 _Ok, Xan-man, play it cool,_ Xander admonished. Xander tilted his head up, thrust back his shoulders and stood tall. A vaguely familiar chuckle circled him as he felt the new presence slowly walk around him.  
  
Something inside of Xander went cold. There was a deep sense of foreboding taking root. _Spike,_  Xander thought. _Spike, find me! Help me!_  
  
The presence moved back a short distance and then suddenly Xander was gripped again. This time he could tell he was being held by two people. The presence moved forward and suddenly the bag was ripped from Xander’s head.  
  
Xander briefly turned his head as he blinked from the light.   
  
“How do, Mr. Harris,” a voice all too familiar drawled.  
  
Xander’s heart began to erratically beat in fear as his body was instantly drenched in sweat. He shot his eye forward to look at the face from his nightmares: Caleb!  
  
“I see you remember me,” Caleb smiled and reached forward toward Xander’s face.  
  
Xander began to struggle and hyperventilate but he couldn’t get away from the two Biogens holding him. Caleb plucked Xander’s eyepatch off and studied Xander’s misshapen empty eye socket.  
  
“Fun times,” Caleb muttered and moved closer to Xander. “You know, back then I didn’t realize just how valuable you were. I just knew such a trusting human could be so much fun.”  
  
Xander tried to scream and jerk back away from Caleb. Caleb touched the collar of Xander’s shirt.  
  
“New clothes?” Caleb asked. “Wouldn’t want anything to happen to them.”  
  
Xander looked at Caleb.   
  
“Strip him,” Caleb ordered with a smile. Xander fought as best he could not caring if he was zapped by the collar or not. _Help me, Spike!_ _Willow_ _! Jesse!_ Xander thought even as he helplessly struggled as the another Biogen moving in to help hold Xander as the others undid Xander’s wrist restraints and began to make him as vulnerable as humanly possible.   
  
It wasn’t until Xander got a solid kick into one of the Biogen’s shins that Xander realized something was wrong with the collar. It didn’t fire. The knowledge that he could fight back fueled Xander’s desperate struggles. At one point he almost broke free but in the end he was no match for three Biogens. In the end and exhauste Xander was stripped naked and held out in front of Caleb.  
  
“Secure him over there!” Caleb ordered as he pointed to in front of a large vid screen.   
  
The Biogens hauled Xander in front of the vid screen so he could see it. Then they secured his arms over his head. Then they secured his feet in place. There was the sound of snapping fingers and suddenly the vid screen flared to life.   
  
Xander was a split image in front of himself. On the vid screen was a split view. On one half of the screen Xander could see himself from a front angle. On the other half the screen Xander could see himself from a rear angle. _At least I'm not wearing the collar,_ Xander tried to find something positive, for his sanity's sake, about the horrofiying situation in which he was being plunged.  
  
Caleb stepped in front of Xander and reached for the tape covering his mouth. With a quick yank, Caleb tore the tape off. Xander screamed. Caleb smiled.  
  
Xander took a couple of deep breaths trying to control his fear and the pain. He looked at Caleb.  
  
“What is it with you Biogens? Why the strip down and tie-ups?” Xander asked feigning more bravado then he felt.  
  
“Adds to the fear and humiliation,” Caleb answered simply and then brushed a hand over Xander’s right cheek. Xander flinched and jerked his head away.  
  
“I never got to finish what I started,” Caleb observed.   
  
“Boo hoo,” Xander replied. Caleb laughed.  
  
“I will finish, “Caleb said, “but first I intend to ask you a few questions, now that I know who you really are Xander Harris.”  
  
“You’re only going to get one answer from me,” Xander said, “and it involves an anatomically impossible position even for a Biogen.”  
  
Caleb grabbed Xander’s chin and held it firmly while he stared into Xander’s face.  
  
“I’m going to rip out your other eye, Xander Harris. But before I do, I’m going to give you some lasting images to muse over for the rest of your life...however short that may be. And while I’m giving you those images you are going to give me all sorts of information on your Council friends and maybe even a few of Angel’s friends.”  
  
Xander tried to shake his head. Caleb smiled a snapped his fingers again. Gavin approached and handed something to Caleb. Caleb brought his hand up so Xander could see clearly. In Caleb’s hand was a large knife.  
  
“From this moment on the only thing I want to hear coming out of your mouth is information. If not, I’m going to cut out your tongue. Now, I know you may think if I cut out your tongue that will keep you from telling me anything. Not so. If I cut out your tongue then I’ll free one hand so you can type your answers. If you don’t type anything I’ll cut off one hand and then you can do it with the other hand. If you lose both hands well then we’ll switch to yes or no questions and you can tap with a foot. If you don’t tap….” Caleb smiled as Xander’s eye widened. “Well you get the picture. Bit by bit boy I will get what I want out of you.”  
  
Caleb stepped back away from Xander. Xander watched as Caleb handed the knife back to Gavin. Then Gavin handed Caleb a cat-o'-nine-tails with bits of twisted wire attached to the end. Caleb then stepped behind Xander. Xander wanted to look away from the images before him but he couldn’t.  
  
“Remember, if you scream,” Caleb said as he raised his hand with the whip, “scream something useful.”   
  
Caleb swung his arm down and the firey pain seemed to slam into Xander’s back before he could even register the sight of the whip and wires digging into his flesh. Xander bit his lip and Caleb raised his arm again.   
  
_Spike!_ Xander cried internally as once again he felt his back being lacerated. _Spike! Help me!_

_  
_ **TBC**


	21. (21/43 plus Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lt. “Xander” Harris and Captain William the Bloody have both suffered and lost in the on going war between the Biogens and Council. Now, Xander finds himself a prisoner of Captain William the Bloody (aka Spike). What will be Xander’s fate?

_“Remember, if you scream,” Caleb said as he raised his hand with the whip, “scream something useful.”  
  
Caleb swung his arm down and the fiery pain seemed to slam into Xander’s back before he could even register the sight of the whip and wires digging into his flesh. Xander bit his lip and Caleb raised his arm again.   
  
_ Spike! _Xander cried internally as once again he felt his back being lacerated._ Spike! Help me!

*********************************************************************************************************************************  
  
“Pet,” Spike called out as he entered his rooms. A silence devoid of the hyper energy and sound that was his wonderfully stubborn and irritating git greeted Spike.   
  
“Pet?” Spike called again frowning as he moved from the sitting room to the bedroom. Xander’s clothes were strewn on the bed.  
  
“Xan!” Spike barked frustrated and a little worried by his CM’s absence. Spike peeked into the lavish bathroom with the large shower and even larger tub. Spike growled. Spike prowled looking for signs of Xander.  It didn’t take long for Spike to notice his room had been searched, especially the night stand drawer. _When I find you, pet,_ Spike thought, _I’m going to tan that lovely bum of yours with the paddle in that drawer for worrying me._  
  
Spike continued his search and in the front room found the packages of clothes.   
  
“Harmony,” Spike muttered. _The bint must have got him some clothes and pinched him for a gab._  
  
Spike pulled out his communicator.   
  
“Harm,” Spike barked. Once again silence was Spike’s only answer. “Feck it, Harm, answer me.”  
  
 _Wot the bloody hell is going on?_ Spike wondered when he didn’t get an answer.   
  
Spike signaled Angel.   
  
“Yeah?” Angel replied immediately. _‘Bout time someone soddin’ did,_ Spike thought.  
  
“Is Harm out in the lobby?” Spike asked.  
  
“Gee, Spike, let me use my x-ray vision and see,” Angel replied.  
  
“Quit being a wanker and tell me if she’s out there,” Spike snapped.  
  
“Don’t twist yer knickers,” Angel muttered. Spike held his breath for the few moments he knew it was taking for Angel to check the lobby. The lobby had been empty when Spike had come up to his rooms but he was beginning to fervently hope Harm was done there banging on about her nails and boring Xander into a coma.  
  
“Lobby’s empty, Spike,” Angel said. “What’s a matter? Xander making you sleep on the couch.”  
  
“He’s bloody not here!” thundered Spike.  
  
“Not there?”   
  
“’S wot I said init?”  
  
“Where is he?” clipped Angel.   
  
“That’s wot I’m trying to find out you stupid wally!”  
  
“Spike,” Angel growled in warning. “Have you tried contacting Harm?”  
  
“Gee, never cross me mind,” replied Spike. “Course I did and I got no answer.”  
  
“Damn,” Angel said after a brief pause.  
  
“Wot?”   
  
“She left her communicator in her desk again.”  
  
Spike rolled his eyes. “Tell me why we don’t kill her again?”  
  
“Spike,” Angel once again warned.   
  
“Really, some folks are just too stupid to live. Drains the whole bloody gene pool.”  
  
“Look, she’s got the collar on…”  
  
“Probably only thing that keeps her pretty neck from getting broke,” Spike grumbled.  
  
“Yes,” Angel sighed. “But it also means I can find her. You think she might be with Xander?”  
  
“I don’t know. There are packages of new clothes up here. His old clothes are in the bedroom. I don’t know who else he’d be with, it’s not like there’s gonna be an academy reunion here.”  
  
“Anybody else on the crew he might be with?”  Angel asked.  
  
“Oi!” Spike said smacking himself in the forehead and for the first time felt a little more relaxed. “Maybe.”  
  
“You contact the crew. Find out if he’s with any of them. Meanwhile, I’ll trace Harm and get a message to where she’s at and find out if Xander’s with her.”  
  
“Right,” Spike said. _Who would Xander be with?_ Spike wondered. _Gunn?_   
  
Spike shook his head. If Xander were with Gunn he’d be able to hear the verbal sparring on the fire side of the planet. Spike signaled Fred.  
  
“Fred here,” Fred’s perky voice answered.  
“Luv,” Spike replied. “Is Xander with you?”  
  
“Xander? No. Should he be?  
  
Spike sighed. “Can’t find him. Was hoping he might be with one of the crew.”  
  
“Not with me,” Fred said. “If he does show I’ll send him your way.”  
  
“If he shows, keep him there and contact me.”  
  
“Will do.”  
  
Spike began to pace. Deep down a terrible sense of dread was forming and the urge to find Xander was growing exponentially.   
  
“Right then,” Spike muttered. “Enough of the games.”   
  
Spike marched over to the security panel by the door and accessed the logs to see who the security program had authorized to unlock the door. Harmony’s name wasn’t on the list for the day; Faith’s was.  
  
Spike began to type in his code to access the security vids. He wanted to see who had been entering his room. Spike also signaled Faith.  
  
“Hey,” Faith instantly replied.  
  
“Xander’s missing,” Spike said.  
  
“What’s the scoop?” Faith replied.  
  
“New packages in the room. His old clothes are on the bed. You are the last person before me to access the security program to unlock the door.”  
  
“There were no packages when I dropped him off. He did ask about going out.”   
  
 “I don’t like this, Faith. Something’s wrong,” Spike said. ”Ping his collar. I wanna know where he is. Then meet me downstairs.”  
  
“I’m on my way.”  
  
The replay of the security vids came up on the small console. Spike fast forwarded into the time code registered for Faith’s entry. Spike clearly saw Xander and Faith. _Pet looks unhappy about something,_ Spike observed.   
  
Spike saw Faith leave, Xander’s head pop out for a moment and then the entrance was empty. Spike slowly fast-forwarded the vid. He stopped when he saw a strange man bearing packages outside his door. Spike watched as the man talked through the door, the door opened and then the man and Xander talked. There was a few minutes delay and then Xander left with the strange men.   
  
Spike narrowed his eyes. _Xan didn’t look threatened or scared,_ Spike thought. A brief surge of jealousy and doubt ran through Spike. _Had Xander been playing him? Was Xander really a spy? Did he have a contact?_  
  
As quickly as the surge came it was gone; drowned out by the sense of dread still growing in Spike. _NO!_ Spike thought. _Xander had promised he was mine and Xan wouldn’t break his word. Something is wrong.  
_  
Spike headed out the door and down to the lobby. He’d wait for Faith and then he was going to find his Xander.  
  
***  
On the fifth stroke Xander broke.  
  
“B-B-BUFFYLIKESCHOCOLATE!” Xander screamed in a long agonizing stream of words.  
  
There was a pause in the whipping. Once again Xander’s chin was held in Caleb’s powerful grasp. Xander sucked in some air and looked at his torturer. Caleb met his gaze and smiled.  
  
“Now a lesser man might of thought you were playing fast and loose with the rules, Mr. Harris. You screamed out something about your friends, but it was trivial,” explained Caleb. “But you see, Mr. Harris, I’m not a _lesser_ man. Even the most trivial information I can use. It helps me build a profile. Helps me get a better understanding of strengths and weaknesses. Why even now I can think of at least one way to use that lovely bit of information you just gave me. Perhaps a gift of poisoned chocolate sent to the Regent? It’s trite and probably wouldn’t work, but then again with all the stress and worry she’s under with you being gone….”  
  
Xander tried to gather enough saliva to form a Caleb-worthy spit ball, but his mouth was just too dry from the terror, breathing through the pain and his long scream. Xander shifted tactics and used up a lot of his waning strength to violently jerk his head.   
  
Xander had a brief moment to savor his victory as he freed his chin from Caleb’s grasp. However, it was a very brief moment.   
  
“Ready to go on are we?” chuckled Caleb as he once again moved behind Xander.   
  
Xander tried to straighten as much as he could and barely managed to contain a gasp as even the slightest movement upped the levels of the caustic pain wracking his body.  
  
“Now, let’s get a close-up on Mr. Harris’s back,” Caleb said as he once again raised his instrument of torture. “I want him to get a real good look at what his stalling is doing to him”  
  
Xander couldn’t help but look at the vid in front of him. He couldn’t help but see the blood and the torn flesh. He couldn’t help but see the sixth stroke tearing through skin and muscle and flaying him open even more. Xander couldn’t help but bite his lips until blood flowed down his chin like the tears down his cheek.  
  
***  
  
As Spike stepped out of the lift he was met with the sight of Faith perched on Harmony’s desk and Gunn standing at the ready near by.   
  
“Faith?” Spike said as he cocked an eyebrow.  
  
“She called me,” Gunn answered. “If the ship’s CM has gotten himself in trouble again, I’ll find him.”  
  
Despite the growing terror Spike was feeling for Xander he smiled. _Right loyal crew I got,_ Spike thought.   
  
“I’ve tracked his collar to a building a few blocks from here,” Faith said as she jumped down from the desk.   
  
Angel stepped out of his office. “Harm’s on her way back.”  
  
“Back from where?” Spike snarled.   
  
“’The Groosalaug,’” Angel said. Spike hissed.  
  
“If she’s working for ....”   
  
“Spike, Harmony’s not that talented to be a double agent. She can barely even remember she works for me…no way could she work for _two_ bosses.”  
  
“When she gets here,” Spike said deciding to ignore the question of Harmony’s loyalties and capabilities for the moment, “find out who the strange man was who brought packages to my room and then left with Xander.”  
  
“Xander left with someone?” Angel asked.  
  
“Yeah, didn’t look like he was threatened either. It’s all on the security vids. See what you can find out,” Spike said.  
  
“Where are you going?”   
  
“Faith’s got a bead on Xan’s collar. Its a few blocks over.”  
  
Angel nodded. “Call if you need back up.”  
  
“Only one who’s going to need back up is whoever it was that lead my Xander away from me,” Spike answered.  
  
“Spike…,” Angel began to softly chastise.  
  
“Lead on,” Spike said to Faith as he ignored Angel. _He can bust my chops later,_ Spike thought.  
  
***  
Xander was in hell. Each stroke brought more agony then Xander ever thought existed. Xander tried to keep his concentration on what didn’t hurt, like his hands which had long gone numb. Yet the rhythmic slams of the braided wire and leather slapping against his broken and bleeding flesh always brought him back to where it was agonizing.  
  
 _Jesse, dude,_ Xander thought. _I hope you got a spot open for me._   _I don’t think I’m gonna be around much longer._  
  
“GILESSTILLREADS _BOOKS_!” Xander screamed as another painful stroke lacerated the fresh flesh of Xander’s lower back.  
  
 _I’m so sorry,_ Xander inwardly sobbed. _Please forgive me guys. Just be smarter than he or_ _I._ _Don’t let him use whatever I give him._  
  
***  
  
Spike stood at the opening of the alley. Faith was on his “threes” and Gunn at his six.   
  
“Wot the bloody hell made him go down here?” Spike growled.  
  
“It’s just up ahead,” Faith said as she checked her readings.   
  
“Right. We go in and we go in hard,” said Gunn.  
  
“We get my boy,” Spike countered. The clawing fear inside him was leaving the taste of bile in his mouth.   
  
With deadly familiarity the three members of the _DeSoto_ crew moved quickly and quietly down the alley. As they approached a small door on the right Faith indicated “this is it.” Gunn looked back at Faith and pointed to the left of the door; then he moved to the right of the door. Spike nodded at his two crew mates then melded into his enhanced form.  
  
Faith nodded at Spike and Gunn caressed his rifle. Spike’s mouth stretched into a grin that had nothing to do with mirth. In a blur of speed and strength he raised his foot and kicked the small door off its hinges and tumbled into the building. Quickly Faith and Gunn followed preparing to give Spike cover.   
  
The emptiness of the room sent Spike into a frenzy.  
  
“XAAAANDER!” Spike howled as he tore through the trash, debris and broken crates. Gunn swept through the room using back and forth motions with his weapon. Faith surged over to a far corner, bent down and picked up Xander’s collar.  
  
“SPIKE!” Faith shouted to the raging Biogen. Spike whipped his head to stare at Faith.  
  
“He was here,“ Faith said simply. Spike took a deep breath and stilled for a moment. He scented the room. He could smell a trace of his boy and his boy’s fear. Thankfully he didn’t smell any of Xander’s blood.  
  
“There’s nothing,” Gunn said.  
  
Spike turned around and headed back out the door; his crew followed.  
  
“Harmony better hope she has some answers,” Spike growled and swept back into the alley with his duster billowing behind him.  
  
***  
“Whew!” Caleb said as he paused in his whipping of Xander. “I don’t know about you, but I’m getting a bit tired and thirsty.”  
  
Xander used the break to try and even out his breathing. His entire back was on fire and he didn’t even want to think about what it looked like anymore. His hope that he’d pass out or die before Caleb was through with him was denied during Caleb’s last break when he’d ordered Xander be given a stimulant and just enough essential medical attention to keep him going.   
  
Caleb stepped back in front of Xander and lifted his head by the chin. Xander didn’t fight. He didn’t have the strength or energy.  
  
“You’re not looking so good, Mr. Xander,” Caleb said. Xander just rolled his eye. Caleb laughed and motioned to one of his minions.  
  
“Fetch some water won’t you?” Caleb ordered while he continued to look at Xander. Xander tried not to note the mix of blood (his blood) and sweat streaking its way down Caleb’s face. Caleb smiled.

The minion quickly brought a glass of water to Caleb. Caleb used his free hand to take the glass and in exaggerated motions bring it to his lips and take a long satisfying drink.   
  
“Just what I needed,” Caleb sighed. “How about you, Mr. Harris? Would you like a drink?”  
  
Xander tried to look away. Caleb laughed.  
  
“Oh, I bet you would, Mr. Harris,” Caleb said. “Tell you what. I’ll make you a deal.”  
  
Xander narrowed his eye.  
  
“You give me something more than the name of the Regent’s stuffed pig or Giles’s favorite late composer and I’ll give you a drink.”  
  
Xander shook his head.  
  
“C’mon Mr. Harris,” Caleb tried again. “I’m just asking for one little secret. Something no one else knows about your friend. Just one and I’ll give you a long cool drink of water.”  
  
Xander focused his eye back on Caleb.  
  
“One small secret, Mr. Harris,” Caleb said again.   
  
“Wills…Willow…” Xander whispered.  
  
Caleb smiled. “A secret about the Prefect?”  
  
Xander nodded.  
  
“A secret nobody else knows?” Caleb asked.  
  
“D-d-deepest,” Xander whispered.  
  
Caleb smiled and held the glass up to his Xander’s lips. Carefully, Caleb tilted the glass so Xander could drink.   
  
Xander tried not to gulp but the water was heavenly. It was cold, soothing, and mostly likely his last touch of comfort before he died. Xander savored the feeling while even trying to dismiss the voice that warned this bit of comfort would prolong his agony just a little longer.   
  
When the glass was empty, Caleb took it away and handed it to a minion.  
  
“Now, Mr. Harris, about that secret,” Caleb purred.  
  
“Wills,” Xander began as he met Caleb’s hungry gaze.   
  
“Willow,” Xander said in a much stronger voice, “she’s the one who broke the yellow crayon the first year at the academy.”  
  
Under different circumstances Xander might have found it amusing the different shades of purple Caleb’s face turned as his rage built. However, under these circumstances it was terrifying. Xander didn’t have to worry about it one way or another as suddenly Caleb’s fist slammed into Xander’s face; into his right eye.  
  
The world exploded in pain, light and then went dark. Xander felt Caleb’s fist slammed into him again. _Well on the bright side,_ Xander thought as he realized he’s eye was damaged or at least swollen shut, _I don’t have to watch his crappy program any more._  
  
A third strike to the face rocked Xander’s whole body and he once again bit his bloody and torn lip as the movement and shock sent tendrils of blazing pain arching out from the bloody meat that was once his back.  
  
Xander felt his chin being grabbed once more. He heard Caleb try and control his breathing. _Ha!_ Xander thought. _Puny Xan-man got ya didn’t he?!_  
  
“Well, Mr. Harris,” Caleb seethed into Xander’s ear. “Seems you provoked me into something I wasn’t ready to do yet. I was hoping to give you some more images but by the look of your eye I can tell that’s not going to happen any time soon…or at all.”  
  
Xander swallowed.  
  
“I suppose from now on, you’ll just have to _guess_ what I’m going to do to you.”  
  
Xander held back a whimper. _Spike…Buffy…Wills…just make sure this asshole suffers when you find him,_ Xander prayed.  
  
***  
  
The crew of the _DeSoto_ burst through the doors at HQ. Spike briefly noted Angel talking to Harmony and then surged forward. Before Angel could lay a hand on him, Spike had Harmony up against a wall with his hand wrapped around her throat.  
  
“WHERE IS HE?” Spike snarled in full game face.  
  
“W-w-who?” Harmony squeaked.  
  
“XANDER!” yelled Spike.  
  
“SPIKE!” Angel yelled as he put a hand on Spike’s shoulder. Spike shrugged it off.   
  
“Back of Angel or I swear I break this bird’s neck!”  
  
“A-a-a-ng-g-gel?” Harmony cried.  
  
“Spike, you kill her and we won’t learn what she knows,” Angel said softly.  
  
“Where is he?” Spike snarled again.  
  
“I don’t know. I swear. I don’t know,” Harmony cried.  
  
“Where did the packages in my room come from? Who was the man that gave them to him?”   
  
“G-g-gav-v-vin,” Harmony answered. “I gave them to Gavin to take upstairs to Xander.”  
  
“Who’s Gavin?” Angel asked.  
  
“I don’t know!” Harmony squealed.  
  
“You let a stranger upstairs?” Angel growled.  
  
“He..he..he had..a..a m-m-message,” Harmony said.  
  
“From who?” Spike asked.  
  
“I don’t know,” Harmony sobbed.  
  
“Listen ya little trollop! You better start knowing something quick or I’m going to scatter your entrails all over this lobby!!!” shouted Spike.  
  
“He said he had a message. He seemed n-n-nice. He offered to buy me a drink,” wailed Harmony.  
  
“A drink, Harm?” Angel asked. “Is that the price of your loyalty?”  
  
“He..w-w-was a Biogen! Th-th-this..is Hyperion. I didn’t think…”   
  
“That’s obvious you daft cow!” snarled Spike.   
  
“He was going to buy you a drink at ‘The Groosalaug?’” Angel asked.   
  
Harmony nodded.  
  
“A date!” yelled Spike. “You sold out my pet for a DATE!!!!”  
  
Spike tightened his grasp on Harmony’s neck and she began to turn blue.  
  
“Spike!” Angel yelled. “Let her go!”  
  
“My boy is missing!” yelled Spike as he watched Harmony struggle like a pinned fly.  
  
“And killing her isn’t going to help!” Angel yelled and grabbed Spike. “Now let her go William!”  
  
Spike forced himself to uncurl his fingers and release Harmony. Harmony fell to the floor and sucked in air in great gulping sobs. Spike turned to look at Angel.  
  
“If anything happened to Xander I’m going to take her apart slowly,” Spike snapped.  
  
“We’re wasting time, William,” Angel said. “We’ll worry about Harmony later. Right now we’re heading out to ‘The Black Thorn.’”  
  
“The Thorn? Why?” asked Spike. “Shouldn’t we check ‘The Groosalaug’ for that bloke Gavin?”  
  
“He won’t be there. I doubt he’d sent Harmony to the place where Caleb is,” Angel said.  
  
“Caleb? You really think that nob Gavin is with Caleb?”  Spike asked desperately hoping what his instincts had been screaming was wrong.  
  
“Spike, I think given what you said and what we now know about Caleb we have to consider the possibilities.” Angel looked at the younger Biogen. “We don’t have time to argue. We may only get one chance. I’ll send a team over to ‘The Groosalaug’ while we hit ‘the Thorn.”

Gunn and Faith looked perplexed. "I'll fill you in on the way," Angel said.

  
  _Pet,_ Spike inwardly wailed. _Please be ok. Please don’t let that monster have you…and if he does. Hang on! Hang on Xander. I’m coming for you._  
  
***  
  
Xander lost count of the blows Caleb delivered. Over and over Caleb seemed to work out his rage and frustration by slamming his fists into Xander. Every time Xander escaped into the realm of oblivion he came back to the feel of a small needle sliding back out of his arm.  
  
 _Couldn’t he at least have an incompetent medtech?_ Xander thought. _One who just might slip and give me an over or under dose?_  
  
“I think it’s time we tried something new, Mr. Harris,” Xander heard Caleb say. “My arms are getting tired and my hands are getting sore.”  
  
 _Let me take a moment to so not care,_ Xander thought.  
  
“Remember, Mr. Harris,” Caleb’s voice droned, “same rules apply.”   
  
Then Xander heard the faint hiss of a torch being activated.   
  
_Oh God!_ Xander thought before he felt and smelt the inside of his right thigh start to burn.  
  
“SPIKE!...SPIIIIIKEEE…SPIIIKELIKESWHISKEEEEY!” Xander wailed.  
  
***  
  
As Angel, Spike, Gunn and Faith approached “The Black Thorn” the cloying terror inside of Spike was nearly choking him.  
  
“Gunn,” Spike said abrubtly.  
  
“Yeah boss,” Gunn replied.  
  
“You have one job and only one,” Spike said. “Get my boy. If Xander’s in there…if he’s hurt. Get  him out. Get Xander out of there and back to HQ.”  
  
 “He’s the _DeSoto’s_ CM. I’ll take care of him, Captain,” Gunn promised.  
  
Spike studied his gunner for a moment and then gave a brief smile. Whatever feelings Gunn had about Xander and his relationship with Spike, Gunn had accepted that Xander was the Captain’s Mate of the _DeSoto_ and that meant Xander was more than just crew: he was family.   
  
“I’ve got a back-up team including Wes standing by,” Angel whispered. “Once we storm the place, they’ll take up positions making sure no one gets out. We’ll coordinate our attack with the second unit’s strike at ‘The Groosalaug.’”  
  
Spike looked at his mentor, former lover, and leader. Angel laid a hand on Spike’s shoulder.  
  
“If he’s in there, we’ll bring him home William,” Angel promised before turning and making the motion to move out.  
  
***  
  
“I’m growing bored, Mr. Harris,” Caleb said.   
  
Xander tried to cough at the sick smell of his own burnt flesh but a cough required just too much energy. Xander wheezed instead.  
  
“I want something useful, Mr. Harris,” Caleb threatened.  
  
 _Yeah, well get used to disappointment budd…_ Xander began to think and then the most horrifying pain yet slammed through his senses. Xander convulsed and struggled vainly against his restraints as he felt the flame of the torch sliding back and forth over his cock and balls.  
  
When the flame came to rest at the tip of Xander’s shriveled penis Xander screamed loud and long as if he could pour his very soul out of his tortured body through the sounds escaping his mouth. The flame was removed and Xander sagged in his bonds.  
  
“Spike,” Xander whispered knowing these would be the last words he’d ever speak. “Spike, I love you.”

**TBC**


	22. (22/43 plus Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lt. “Xander” Harris and Captain William the Bloody have both suffered and lost in the on going war between the Biogens and Council. Now, Xander finds himself a prisoner of Captain William the Bloody (aka Spike). What will be Xander’s fate?

_When the flame came to rest at the tip of Xander’s shriveled penis Xander screamed loud and long as if he could pour his very soul out of his tortured body through the sounds escaping his mouth. The flame was removed and Xander sagged in his bonds.  
  
“Spike,” Xander whispered knowing these would be the last words he’d ever speak. “Spike, I love you.”_

*********************************************************************************************************************

  
Spike would never know what he registered first; the echoes of Xander’s unholy and inhumane scream or the stink of his pet’s burnt flesh. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was that Spike slid back into a rage and bloodlust he hadn’t felt in decades.  
  
It wasn’t Angel’s right hand man that stormed first through the doors of “The Black Thorn.” It wasn’t an enhanced human or a Biogen. Death stormed through the doors of the bar and those in Death’s way fled or fell.  
  
“XAAAANNNDDEER!” Spike screamed as he plucked a hapless person in front of him and threw them aside. “Where is he?”  
  
Gunn and Faith slid in the room each taking up the opposite side. The scanned the room looking for signs of Xander and fired on threats towards themselves or their Captain.  
  
Angel wasn’t in the same emotional rage as Spike. Angelus never let those baser emotions get the best of him. Rather, Angel was in that cold dark space where he understood monstrosity and he smiled around his fangs as he saw the bartender head toward the back.  
  
Angel sprung neatly over the bar and landed in front of the fleeing Biogen.  
  
“Going somewhere?” Angel purred with his eyes shining a fierce yellow.  
  
The bartender was in his own enhanced face but compared to the fierce vision it looked like only so much cheap theatric make-up. Angel weaved back and forth in front of the man. _I miss playing with my prey,_ the thought rumbled through him.  
  
“I-I-I..j-just…” the other man began to stutter.  
  
“You just what?” Angel purred as he suddenly reached out, grabbed the man and wrapped him in brutal headlock.  
  
“I j-j-just rented out the back room. I didn’t know wh—wha…”  
  
“Where and how do we get in?” Angel interrupted.  
The bartender pointed to a door behind the bar.  
  
“B-bb-ioscan,” the bartender whispered. “I ca-can get you in..p-p-please j-just l-let me live,” pleaded the hapless Biogen.  
  
“Xander lives. You live,” answered Angel. “Spike, Faith, Gunn!”  
  
Faith and Gunn moved immediately to support positions around Angel. The bar was mostly empty now with only the hurt and hidden remaining. As quickly as Faith and Gunn moved Spike still managed to reach Angel first. Spike pierced the pinned man with a deadly gaze.  
  
“You don’t want to see me again,” Spike said to the bartender. Angel turned the man around; keeping him pinned in front of him and marched to the door.  
  
“Ready,” Angel said and his team took up positions beside the door ready to storm inside. Angel motioned for the man to proceed. The door slid open.  
  
***  
“Well that was interesting, but not use…,” Caleb began to say as he traded the torch for the big knife when he heard Xander’s name being roared in the other room.  
  
Caleb motioned for two guards to take up position to fire on the door. He turned to Gavin and said, “See about the exit route.”  
  
Xander was barely conscious but some how he registered the sound of Spike yelling his name.  
  
“Hey, Caleb,” Xander whispered. “Got some intel for you.”  
  
Caleb spun back around to look at Xander.  
  
“My boyfriend is going to kick your ass,” Xander smiled despite the pain and then let unconsciousness claim him comforted by the fact the medtech would be too busy to bring him back.  
  
Caleb growled as the door flew open. The guards fired hitting the man in front of Angel squarely in the chest. Immediately Gunn and Faith fired back from the other side of the door as Angel dropped the body and dove forward into the room.  
  
Faith and Gunn continued to exchange fire while Angel worked his way into the room. Caleb moved away from Xander and down towards Angel when Gavin burst out from the left.  
  
“Exit’s blocked,” Gavin shouted and fired at Angel. “There’s a secondary team out there.”  
  
“Looks like were going to have to take out Angel here and now if we want to get out of this,” Caleb said calmly.  
  
“You’re welcome to try,” Angel responded from behind cover.  
  
“Get in line, Peaches,” Spike said as he strode through the door. The part of Spike that felt love and knew humanity was broken at the site of his beaten, bloodied and tortured Xander hanging limply in front of a large vid screen that bore in too great a detail of the horror to which Xander had been subjected. The Death part of Spike only saw Caleb.  
  
“Caleb’s mine,” raged Spike as he charged disregarding the firefight around him. Frantically Gunn and Faith kept up their barrage keeping the guards too busy to fire on Spike. Angel’s fear won over Angelus’s cool rationality and broke cover to tackle and engage Gavin before he could fire a shot off at Spike.  
  
Caleb smiled and returned the charge. The two tow haired Biogens met in the middle of blood and chaos. They fought with bare hands and bared fangs.  
  
***  
  
Gunn concentrated his fire and took down one of the guards.  
  
“Cover me,” he shouted to Faith. “I’m goin’ for Xander.”  
  
Faith didn’t waste time acknowledging Gunn. She fired off a few rounds in quick bursts forcing the remaining guard down. Gunn took off at run toward Xander.  
  
***  
  
Gavin and Angel rolled on the floor. Gavin tried desperately to hold on to his gun while trying just as desperately to keep Angel from ripping out his throat.  
  
“I don’t know who you are,” snarled Angel, “but you backed the wrong bad guy.”  
  
“Bad guy,” huffed Gavin as he squirmed to get his gun pointed at Angel. “You’ve gone soft. You once were the terror of humanity and the galaxy. Now you let your bed warmer throw you over for a pathetic human while you worry about negotiating with the Regent Prime.”  
  
Angel rolled the two entangled men and then grabbed the wrist holding Gavin’s gun.  
  
“No matter who I sleep with or what deals I make,” Angel growled as he punctuated each word by slamming Gavin’s hand on the floor, “I will always be a nightmare and the one guy you don’t want to piss off.”  
  
Something fractured in Gavin’s wrist and the gun tumbled out of his hand. Gavin stared in horror at Angel’s face and saw the truth of what Angel was saying just before he heard the snap of his own neck.  
  
***  
  
Spike’s fist slammed into Caleb’s face with a satisfying and meaty crunch. Caleb reeled and stumbled backward. Spike moved forward and followed up with a fist to the stomach. Caleb let out a loud groan and countered with his own punch to Spike’s face. Spike shook his head and smiled. Caleb spun around and threw a kick into Spike sending him stumbling backwards and crashing into a wall.  
  
“I wonder if your screams will sound as good or if your blood will taste as sweet as Xander’s?” Caleb asked as he marched toward Spike. Spike bellowed and charged forward. Caleb stepped to the side at the last moment and struck a two-handed blow to the back of Spike’s shoulders.  
  
***  
  
Gunn reached Xander. Gunn was well used to the horrors of war but his stomach rolled at the human mess that was left of the _DeSoto’s_ CM. _Stay with it man,_ Gunn chastised himself as he first undid the restraints on Xander’s ankles before undoing the restraints around Xander’s wrists.  
  
Gunn took Xander’s weight and eased his body in to a fireman’s carry as gently as he could. _I’m glad you’re out Xan,_ Gunn thought. _There’s just no pain free way of getting you out of here._ Gunn turned and began to make his way back to the door with one hand firmly holding Xander and the other his gun. _I just hope I’m not doing you more damage,_ Gunn thought as he ran.  
  
***  
  
Faith kept up her concentrated bursts on the one guard as Gunn bore down on the door. Faith tried not to notice her bottom lip quivering at the sight of an unconscious and mangled Xander draped across Gunn’s shoulders.  
  
***  
  
Angel rolled off of Gavin’s body and looked around. Gunn had Xander and was almost to the door. Faith was pinning down the last armed guard and Spike was stumbling forward from a blow delivered by Caleb. Angel took a step toward Spike.  
  
“He’s MINE!” Spike shouted at his mentor as he waved him off. Angel stared at his William. Lovers or not they would always be family. Spike wanted and was owed Caleb’s blood. Angel nodded and then looked at Caleb.  
  
“Pray Spike kills you _,_ ” Angelus said. “Because if you kill Spike? I’ll make what you did to Xander seem like horseplay. Believe me; I’ve got games...such fun games to play and an eternity to play ‘em.”  
  
Caleb narrowed his eyes at Angel and then stumbled back as Spike delivered a kick of his own to Caleb’s face.  
  
“You’ll have to play ‘em with someone else Angelus,” Spike said. “Caleb’s my play date today.”  
  
***  
  
“Fuck this,” Faith snarled as Gunn made it to the exit. Gunn barely had a chance to notice the eerily joyful smile dance across face before she threw down her gun and leapt into the room. Faith had given over to the instincts and purpose for which she had been bred and born. Faith was on a hunt to kill a Biogen.  
  
***  
  
Gunn moved into the outer room and was relieved to note it was being secured by the secondary team.  
  
“Good Lord!” exclaimed Wes as he approached Gunn and saw Xander.  
  
“I need transport back to HQ stat,” Gunn barked never slowing down as he continued toward the door. “Tell them well need a trauma team standing by.”  
  
Wesley nodded even as he was moving ahead clearing the path for Gunn to the hovercraft. Wes helped Gunn lower Xander into the craft and gently secure him.  
  
“You better check on your girl. She’s gone all ‘First Regent’,” Gunn said to Wesley just before he closed the hovercraft door and sped off toward HQ.  
  
***  
Faith ran in a zig-zag motion dodging fire from the guard. She laughed as she felt the hot pain of metal grazing her leg. This was the thrill she was meant for and she reveled in it. Faith closed ranks with the guard and then quicker then the Biogen thought was humanly possible Faith kicked his gun from his hand.  
  
Faith smiled enticingly at her prey even as she pounced.  
  
***  
  
Caleb had recovered from Spike’s kick and returned it with a flurry of his own. Spike reeled and stumbled from each one but somehow he kept pressing forward and never missed an opening to deliver a punch or kick of his own.  
  
After one kick, Caleb stumbled and almost fell to his knees. Spike smiled and wiped the blood dripping from his nose.  
  
“Havin’ fun mate?” Spike asked.  
  
“I was until you and your friends interrupted me,” Caleb replied.  
  
Spike was a blur of billowing leather as he spun and delivered a powerful kick to Caleb’s chest. This time Caleb flew backwards and slammed into the wall. Spike marched forward toward Caleb.  
  
Caleb sat up and shook his head only to be hauled up by his shirt and slammed back into the wall by Spike.  
  
“You know,” Spike said as he pulled back his fist and then rammed it into Caleb’s chest. “I don’t think you heart's in this fight.”  
  
Spike yanked his hand back and ripped Caleb’s beating heart out of his chest. Caleb’s mouth fell open and his eyes went wide. Spike cocked his head and then took a bite out of the pulsing muscle.  
  
“Pbbbtt!” Spike said as he spit out the bit of raw flesh. “Rotten to the core.”  
  
Spike then threw the still organ over his shoulder and let the dead Biogen fall to the floor. Spike turned toward the vid screen. Xander was gone. _Gunn better have him,_ Spike thought.  
  
Faith’s scream caught Spike’s attention and he whirled to find his first mate. He spotted her just in time to watch her give a one-two snap to the neck of the last guard in the room. Faith stood up from the body and turned toward Spike and Angel who had moved over to him.  
  
“Uh, Faith,” Angel said as he noted the feral look in the former Regent’s eye. Faith smiled eerily and moved toward the two remaining Biogens.  
  
“FAITH!” Wesley barked from the doorway. “STAND DOWN!”  
  
Faith paused and took a deep breath. Her focus seemed to shift and then she blushed.  
  
“Sorry,” she said sheepishly. “Got a little carried away there.”  
  
Angel and Spike looked at each other then back at Faith.  
  
“No problem,” Angel said. “Just glad you are on our side.”  
  
“Where’s Xander?” Spike asked.  
  
“He’s on his way back to HQ with Gunn,” Wes said. “We’ve got a trauma unit on stand-by.”  
  
Spike nodded and then began running. _Hang on Xan!_ Spike thought. _Hang on!_  
  
***  
  
Spike burst through the doors of HQ and everyone had the sense to get out of his way. Quickly he made his way to the med wing. A doctor was alerted and was already standing by to brief the blood spattered and enraged Biogen. Gunn was standing just by as well.  
  
“How is he?” snapped Spike.  
  
“Not good,” the doctor replied honestly. “He’s suffered severe trauma in the form of deep lacerations, second and third degree burns and multiple contusions and a ruptured spleen from a violent beating.”  
  
“His chances?” asked Spike trying to keep the quake from his voice.  
  
“Not good,” the doctor once again said honestly. “Right now we are trying to stabilize him and treat the worst of the damage. We were lucky we had a blood donor standing by we could use for the extra blood we needed.”  
  
Spike narrowed his eyes and caught a glimpse of a pale and red-eyed Harmony peering around the corner while she held a bandage to the crook of her elbow. She gasped when she saw Spike watching her and withdrew.  
  
“Can I see him?” Spike asked as he looked back at the doctor.  
  
“Not until he comes out of surgery.”  
  
“If he survives…” Spike began to ask.  
  
“He most likely will not have a full range of motion in his arms due to the tearing in his back muscles. We will have to evaluate the reconstructive surgery needed to his genitals to determine what function we can restore,” the doctor paused before continuing, “we’ll also have to evaluate the damage to his right eye. In short, if he survives it will be a long haul before we can even determine the full extent of the damage and what we can do.”  
  
Spike nodded and took a deep breath.  
  
“Keep him alive,” Spike ordered. “No matter what it takes, just keep him alive.”  
  
Spike looked at Gunn. “If…if the worst…if something…”  
  
“I’ll call you,” Gunn said.  
  
Spike then turned and fled the medical wing.  
  
***  
Angel, Wes and Faith entered HQ and headed for the medical wing. As they approached, Spike came barreling out. He paused to look at Angel.  
  
“Don’t think he’s going to make that rendezvous in one piece,” Spike snarled and then continued to flee. Angel flinched.  
  
“Angel,” Wes said as he put a hand on Angel’s shoulder. Angel shook his head and the three moved forward.  
  
Gunn was waiting just inside the door along with the doctor.  
  
“He’s alive but it ain’t good,” Gunn said.  
  
“What did Spike say,” Angel asked.  
  
“He said to keep Xander alive. Whatever it takes, keep Xander alive.”  
  
***  
  
Spike burst through another set of doors, this time it was the lab doors.  
  
“Wha…,” Knox began to say.  
  
“Spike,” Fred interrupted. “I’m so sorry. We heard.”  
  
“Just tell me what you need, Fred,” Spike growled.  
  
“Spike…,” Fred began.  
  
“Please, ducks,” Spike pleaded. “Just tell me what you need.”  
  
“Angel…,”  
  
“Angel can sod off!” Spike cried tears began to form in his eyes. “This is my Xander. The _DeSoto’s_ CM!”  
  
“There’s no guarantee it’ll work,” Fred tried again.  
  
“It’s a chance, luv. It’s a chance. Xander’s strong. If you’d seen what he’d survived you’d know just how strong. All he needs is a chance.”  
  
Fred bit her lip and looked at Spike.  
  
“Knox, I need a hypodermic needle and a syringe,” Fred ordered.  
  
“Fre…,”  
  
“DO IT!” Fred ordered.  
  
Knox scurried as Fred led Spike to a chair and began to roll up his sleeve.  
  
“I’ll need a sample of your blood,” Fred began as she took the syringe from Knox. “Knox has figured out how to stabilize the nanonites for a short time while outside the host’s body.”  
  
Fred sterilized a spot on Spike’s arm and then stuck the needle in and withdrew a blood sample. Fred then looked at Knox.  
  
“Go get a sample of Xander’s blood,” Fred ordered.  
  
“Fre…,” Knox tried again.  
  
“Tell Gunn it’s an order,” Spike hissed. Knox nodded and took off.  
  
“Once we stabilize your nanonites,” Fred explained as she moved away from Spike and loaded his blood sample into a small centrifuge looking device, “we’ll slowly begin introducing Xander’s blood. The nanonites should see the new blood as food or new replicating material. At first they’ll replicate your cells. We’ll flush the new cells as soon as they are made and introduce more of Xander’s blood. The theory is that eventually the nanonites will learn and start replicating Xander’s blood cells.”  
  
“Why can’t ya just give him my bleedin’ nanonites directly?” Spike asked impatiently wondering if Xander had time for all of this.  
  
Fred shook her head. “Nanonites don’t survive long outside their hosts body. The few that might; they’d be attacked as foreign cells. Plus, anything they reproduced would be of your biological make-up. Xander’s body would reject it and could die from it.”  
  
“But what good is just more blood cells?” Spike asked.  
  
“Once the nanonites are recreating Xander’s blood cells then that means they’ll recreate his own biological material. They’ll hide themselves in the cells and we can introduce the new blood to Xander’s system.”  
  
Knox returned with a blood sample and Angel.  
  
“Spike!” Angel snapped. “I didn’t authorize this.”  
  
“You will,” Spike said.  
  
“Spike…,”  
  
“You owe me! You owe me for Dru!” Spike shouted.  
  
Angel closed his eyes.  
  
“William, yer takin a chance with all of us,” Angel said quietly.  
  
“I’m not letting that soulless fucking Biogen win!” yelled Spike. “I’m not letting the Council that created him win. Xander’s the first bloody decent thing in my life since Dru. And I’m not going to let this war first destroy his body and then his soul.”  
  
“You don’t know what this will do to him…”  
  
“It will save him,” Spike looked back to Fred. “Won’t it?”  
  
“If we can get your nanonites to recreate his cells and we can successfully introduce them into his body,” Fred answered, “then it shouldn't take long for the nanonites to recognize the damage to the body. Their healing and recovery protocol should engage.”  
  
“And they’ll heal him?”  
  
“Not at first,” Fred answered.  
  
“Wot?”  
  
“There won’t be enough of them. They’ll need to self-replicate. Once they replicate enough of themselves, then they’ll begin to heal the damage.”  
  
“But….”  
  
“Spike,” Fred interrupted. “Provided the nanonites first replicate his cells and his body doesn’t reject them and the nanonites, then all we need to do is keep Xander’s heart beating and his spinal column intact. We keep him on a steady protein infusion and let science do the rest.”  
  
Spike looked at Angel. Angel nodded. Knox rushed over to Fred and handed her Xander’s blood sample.  
  
“Doctor wasn’t pleased with this,” Knox said.  
  
Fred nodded and turned back to her equipment. She loaded the second sample into the machine.  
  
“Now we wait,” she said.  
  
“How long?” Spike asked.  
  
“As long as it takes,” Fred answered.  
  
“I can't just bloomin’ sit here!” Spike shouted.  
  
“Then go up and sit with Xander,” Fred said never looking away from her machine. “Be with him as soon as you can. Talk to him. Encourage him. Never underestimate the will’s role in healing. As soon as I have results, I’ll be up.”  
  
Angel reached out and took Spike’s arm.  
  
“C’mon. She’s right.”  
  
Spike stood up and looked at Angel.  
  
“I can’t lose him,” Spike said.  
  
“You won’t,” Angel assured him.  
  
“Spike,” Fred said as she looked up from her machine and at the two men, “you do realize that if this works, Xander won’t be a _pure_ human anymore. He will be a Biogen.”  
  
Spike nodded. “The first one created in over two hundred years. The first Biogen created by another Biogen.”

  
 **TBC**


	23. (23/43 plus Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lt. “Xander” Harris and Captain William the Bloody have both suffered and lost in the on going war between the Biogens and Council. Now, Xander finds himself a prisoner of Captain William the Bloody (aka Spike). What will be Xander’s fate?

_“Spike,” Fred said as she looked up from her machine and at the two men, “you do realize that if this works, Xander won’t be a pure human anymore. He will be a Biogen.”  
  
Spike nodded. “The first one created in over two hundred years. The first Biogen created by another Biogen.”_

********************************************************************************************************************************  
  
Spike let Angel lead him out of the lab.  
  
“Sorry about that bit in the hall,” Spike said as they began to make their way back to the med wing.  
  
“No you’re not,” Angel said.  
  
Spike looked at Angel and then cracked a small smile.   
  
“Right, I’m not,” Spike acknowledged. “Kinda makes the whole ding-dong crackers now dunnit?”  
  
It was Angel’s turn to crack a smile.  
  
“We’ll always have something to argue about,” Angel said.  
  
Spike smiled then stopped and looked at Angel. “There’s no going back for Xan, either way now.”  
  
Angel sighed. “Let’s take it one day at a time. Let’s just worry about getting him through this.”  
  
“Angel…”  
  
“Spike…William,” Angel said, “Worry about it when we can make this argument a threesome.”  
  
Spike blanched a minute then couldn’t help but laugh. “He’d chin you for saying that.”  
  
“He could try,” Angel said barely maintaining a straight face.  
  
“He packs a wallop,” Spike said rubbing his chest in fond memory and began walking again.  
  
“When did he get a punch on you?” Angel asked.  
  
“Our first morning after,” Spike confessed with a sly smile.  
  
Angel let loose a full belly laugh. “Let me guess, outraged virgin?”  
  
“Oi! Xander’s no wiltin’ violet. Was corked to find out he could have hit me all along and not trigger the collar.”  
  
Angel laughed again. “I’m beginning to see why you fell for him.  
  
Spike laughed too and then fell silent.  
  
“He innit gonna like this,” Spike finally said. “He hates Biogens.”  
  
“He likes you,” Angel replied.  
  
Spike shook his head. “Promise me I’m the one ta tell him.”  
  
“Spike….”  
  
“Promise me.”  
  
Angel sighed again and nodded his head. “My advice though? Tell him as soon as you think you can.”  
  
Spike nodded.   
  
***  
  
The two Biogens entered the med wing and were met by the remainder of the crew. Gunn took one look at the two men and shook his head.  
  
“Ah hell no! Tell me you ain’t goin’ with Fred’s project!” Gunn exclaimed.  
  
“Angel?” Wes said worriedly.  
  
“Can we not discuss this here in the hall?” Angel said as he began to lead the _DeSoto_ crew to commander a small office. “And what’s wrong with the project?”  
  
“He was an annoying twit before,” Gunn said, “Now he’ll be an annoying twit I can’t get the drop on!”  
  
The crew laughed in spite of themselves.  
  
“I think you’ll survive,” Faith said as they all poured into the small office.  
  
“How about you, luv?” Spike said pointing at Faith. “Smells like ya got clipped there.”  
  
“Just a scratch. Nothin’ that a band-aid and a visit to the doctor’s lounge couldn’t fix,” Faith smiled and wiggled her hips suggestively.  
  
Wes rolled his eyes.  
  
“Damn, girl! You move quick,” Gunn said.   
  
“It’s a biological imperative bred into the Regents…,” Wes began to explain.  
  
“Yeah,” Faith interrupted with another smile and a wink. “A biological imperative.”  
  
“…that is hormonally activated post a successful Biogen encounter,” Wes tried to continue.  
  
“Wes,” Angel said holding up his hand. “We get the point.”  
  
“Any word on Xan?” Spike asked obviously changing the subject. There wasn’t a person in the room who didn’t know that if something had happened Spike would have already been told.  
  
“Still in surgery,” Gunn said.   
  
“Are you really going to try and cultivate Biogen nanites and introduce them into Xander?” asked Wes.  
  
Angel nodded.  
  
“Have you thought about what…,”  
  
“It will save Xander,” Spike interrupted, “and that’s all we need to think about right now.”  
  
Wesley pursed his lips then nodded. “Yes, yes of course you’re right.”  
  
“Who’s gonna tell him the good news?” asked Faith.  
  
“I will,” Spike said. “And only me. No one else.”  
  
Spike shot a deadly gaze at each of his crew.  
  
“I hear ya,” Gunn said. “But he ain’t gonna like it.”  
  
“I know,” Spike sighed. “I know.”  
  
“So Fred thinks this will work?” Wes asked.  
  
“It’ll work,” Spike said fervently. “It has to.”  
  
“In the mean time no one outside this room or Fred and Knox need to know about this,” Angel said.  
  
“What about the doctors?” asked Wes.  
  
“No one,” said Angel.   
  
“But if it works, boss,” Faith interrupted, “how you gonna explain it?”  
  
“I’m not,” Angel said. “If it…”  
  
“WHEN!” Spike said vehemently.  
  
“When,” Angel began again, “when it looks like the nanites have begun to take over and repair Xander’s injuries I’ll have him moved to the lab and Fred will finish his care.”  
  
“Is that wise, Angel?” Wes asked.  
  
“Look, the less people know about this the safer Xander and we are. If…when the nanites kick in then Xander won’t need the medical care..he’ll need Fred’s.”  
  
“And mine,” said Spike.   
  
“The doctors are still gonna ask questions,” said Gunn.   
  
“Not if they’re ordered not to,” said Angel with the deadly tone Spike remembered all too well.   
  
“Hey, it’s your credit, man,” Gunn said. “I’m on board.”  
  
“Five by five with me,” said Faith.   
  
Angel looked at Wes who wore a puzzled look on his face. “Wes?”  
  
“Oh?” Wes said focusing on Angel. “Yes, right.”  
  
“What Wes?” Angel asked wanting to ferret out the cause of Wes’s puzzlement.  
  
“I’d start down playing Xander’s injuries now,” Wes said. “I’d start locking down who has information as to how badly he was hurt. Plant rumors that the damage looked worse than it was. The less injured Xander is reported to be….”  
  
“The less miraculous his recovery,” finished Angel.  
  
“Also, have Fred monitor him somewhere else. Don’t take him back to the lab. That would look too suspicious,” said Wes. “We’ll need to take him some place a not too injured Xander would go to recover.”  
  
“We’ll take him back to the _DeSoto,_ ” said Spike.  
  
“We can better control who has access to him there,” said Gunn.  
  
“Fred can easily move the equipment she needs there now without suspicion,” said Faith.  
  
“And it’ll look like Spike wants to spend some quality time with his CM after a bad experience…” chimed in Angel.  
  
“Without worrying about bumping into his old flame,” finished Spike.   
  
Angel looked at the _DeSoto_ crew and smiled. _I could rule the galaxy with a crew like this,_ whispered his Angelus side. _But they wouldn’t let me,_ countered the inner Angel, _and that’s why I’d die for them_.  
  
“Let’s do it,” Angel said.   
  
“We’ll fill Fred in and see what we can start loading on to the ship,” Faith said as she lightly back slapped Gunn before heading for the door. Gunn followed.  
  
“I’ll start working on getting the word out about Xander,” Wes said as he stood up.  
  
“How are ya gonna do that?” asked Spike.   
  
Wes cocked a crooked grin and said, “I’m going to buy Harmony a cup of tea.”  
  
Angel smiled and Spike swallowed a growl.   
  
“C’mon,” Angel said grabbing Spike once again by the arm. “Let’s go out there and wait for the doctor. Once Xander’s out of surgery you’ll need to be with him…”  
  
“…and you’ll need to have a word with the doc and the rest of the med team,” Spike finished.  
  
***  
It was a long wait. It was twice as long for Angel as he watched Spike vacillate between pacing the time-old pace of the desperately worried to trying to act as if he was waiting for Xander to get as something a mundane as a cast.  
  
Spike jumped up for the tenth time, paced, reached for a gasper, shoved it back in his pocket and then sat back down.  
  
“You know you can smoke those outside,” Angel prompted hoping Spike might actually take a break and go out and smoke. _It might calm him down,_ Angel thought.  
  
“Get stuffed,” Spike growled.  
  
Angel rolled his eyes. “Subtle,” Angel replied.  
  
Spike growled again.  
  
“You’ll feel better,” Angel prompted again.  
  
“Sod off!”  
  
“You kiss Xander with that mouth?” Angel asked.  
  
Spike snarled and flew up out of his seat ready to strike.  
  
“Uh…excuse me?” a tired and timid voice interrupted. Both Biogens turned to see a doctor looking at them.  
  
Spike snarled as he caught a whiff of his pet’s blood on the doc. Angel laid a restraining hand on Spike’s arm.  
  
“Doc?” Angel questioned.  
  
“Mr. Harris is out of surgery,” the doctor replied.  
  
Spike surged forward and Angel held him back.  
  
“I wanna see him!” snapped Spike.  
  
“We’re..I …,” the doctor stuttered as he stepped back from the anxious Biogen. “As soon as he’s out of recovery. We’ve got a room set up for him.”  
  
“Let me go,” Spike growled at Angel. “I wanna wait for Xander there.”  
  
“Doc?” Angel asked again not yet releasing Spike.  
  
“I..I don’t…that won’t be a problem,” the doctor finally managed to say. Angel slowly released Spike who twisted his head to clear a phantom crick in his neck and then smoothed his still bloodied and dirty shirt.  
  
“Right then,” Spike said to the physician, “lead on.”  
  
The doctor turned and Spike followed. Angel followed Spike.   
  
“Where do you think yer goin?” Spike asked Angel.   
  
“With you,” Angel replied.  
  
Spike looked back at Angel.  
  
“It’s not necess…,” Spike said softly.  
  
“It is,” Angel interrupted just as softly and then smiled. He knew Spike wouldn’t want to wait alone and Spike would never ask for company. Spike turned his head away from Angel before Angel could see the gratitude in Spike’s eyes.   
  
Xander’s room was private and in a secure location of the med wing. However, both Spike and Angel prowled around and double-checked it.  
  
“The staff and I understand Mr. Harris is a value..pri…patient. Only the best and most discreet will be caring for him,” the doctor said.  
  
“Good,” Angel replied with flecks of gold in his eyes. “I really don’t want to have to deal with any issues of _security_ or _discretion_.”  
  
“Goes double for me, mate,” added Spike who briefly showed his enhanced face.  
  
 “If I even suspect there are problems,” the doctor gulped, “I will let you know.”  
  
Both Biogens nodded and then Spike stiffened. He scented the air.  
  
“Xander,” Spike whispered just before a medical team wheeled a large bed with the unconscious CM into the room.  
  
A coffee-skinned nurse began giving cool and efficient orders on the setup for Xander and the various medical equipment wheeled next to him. The medical team moved swiftly and soon the bustle of the room began to diminish. The nurse who’d been giving orders moved a chair by Xander’s bed which seemed larger and puffier then normal. It also was hooked up to some sort of device.  
  
“It’s a special mattress,” the nurse said noting the puzzled look on Spike’s face. “His injuries are such that there is no comfortable way to position him. The bed however will support him with as little pressure as possible. Will rotate him as necessary and as often as we can.”  
  
Spike moved over to the bed and leaned over the quiet form. Xander was pale, bandaged and had various needles sticking in his arms delivering various fluids. Gently Spike reached out and delicate ran a finger through the bangs pressed flat again Xander’s forehead.  
  
“How long before he wakes up?” Spike asked quietly.  
  
“Not any time soon,” the doctor replied. Spike whipped his head around in frustrated confusion.  
  
“He’d be in too much pain, honey,” the nurse said. “If we keep him sedated he’ll remain calm giving his body a better chance to heal.”  
  
“H-ho..,” Spike cleared his throat. “How will he know I’m here?”  
  
The nurse smiled gently and said, “Talk to him. He’ll hear you. It’s not unusual for patients to claim they could hear their loved ones talking to them while they were unconscious are in a coma.”  
  
Spike cocked an eyebrow. The nurse patted the chair next to the bed.   
  
“Talk to him,” she said again. “You’re a Biogen. You’ll be able to hear the change in the heart rate. That’s how you’ll know he hears you.”  
  
Spike once again reached to touch Xander and then stopped, “It ok ta touch too?”  
  
The nurse smiled. “Oh yeah, sugar,”  
  
Spike once again let his finger stroke through the hair on Xander’s forehead.  
  
“Pet,” Spike said softly. “Xander, you have to hang on. You have to come back to me. I need you.”  
  
Spike nearly jumped. The rhythm of Xander’s heartbeat changed!  
  
“That’s it, pet,” Spike said not bothering to hide the choke in his voice or brush away the tear making it’s way down his cheek. “I’m here, Xan. You’re safe and sound. Just stay with me, pet. Stay with me, Xander.”  
  
Spike carded his hand softly through Xander’s hair.   
  
“Stay with me, pet,” Spike said again and then very softly whispered. “That’s an order.”  
  
Spike smiled as once again he heard the change in Xander’s heartbeat.

**TBC**


	24. (24/43 plus Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lt. “Xander” Harris and Captain William the Bloody have both suffered and lost in the on going war between the Biogens and Council. Now, Xander finds himself a prisoner of Captain William the Bloody (aka Spike). What will be Xander’s fate?

_“That’s it, pet,” Spike said not bothering to hide the choke in his voice or brush away the tear making it’s way down his cheek. “I’m here, Xan. You’re safe and sound. Just stay with me, pet. Stay with me, Xander.”  
  
Spike carded his hand softly through Xander’s hair.   
  
“Stay with me, pet,” Spike said again and then very softly whispered. “That’s an order.”  
  
Spike smiled as once again he heard the change in Xander’s heartbeat._

***********************************************************************************************************************************  
  
Xander kept his back to the vid screen. He never needed to see what was on the screen ever again as long as he lived.  
  
“How long is that, Xan?” a familiar voice asked.  
  
“Jess?” Xander asked as he looked to the doorway. Jesse stepped through and frowned.  
  
“Dude, I think I preferred the relay station,” Jesse said as he looked around the room and saw the sprays of blood, Xander’s blood, on the walls, the floor and of course in livid full detail on the vid screen.  
  
“I think I did too,” Xander replied with a tight catch in his throat and a blush of shame. “Sorry.”  
  
Jess laughed. “Xan, between a choice of dying all over again or you having to go through this? I’d easily take the dying.”  
  
“Don’t say that!” Xander shouted.  
  
“Why not?” Jess asked. “It’s the truth. I’d rather you be alive….”  
  
“I didn’t want you to die for me!” Xander cried.  
  
“As reasons to die, Xan,” Jess sighed, approached Xander and placed his hand on his shoulder, “It’s a pretty damned good one. I wish you'd get that through that thick head of yours.”  
  
“You have to say that….”  
  
“Yeah, I know,” Jesse interrupted with a tired sigh, “I’m just a dream. The _real_ Jesse wouldn’t ever think you were worth dying for.”  
  
Xander arched his brow and pursed his lips. “I didn’t say that.”  
  
“You do, Xan. Every time you deny my forgiveness.”  
  
“Jess!” Xan cried, “I didn’t mean….”  
  
“Hey, shhh,” Jesse placed both hands on Xander’s shoulders. “Calm down. Don’t get so excited. You need to keep calm. You’ve had enough shocks to your system.”  
  
“Does that mean I’m still alive?” Xander asked.  
  
Jesse nodded. “Ain’t gonna lie to ya though, doesn’t look good.”  
  
Xander resisted the urge to look at the vid screens to see again just how bad it was.  
  
“Didn’t feel good,” Xander replied dryly.  
  
Jesse laughed. “As long as you have your humor, there’s hope.”  
  
Xander smiled.  
  
“C’mon. If you insist on being here let’s go into the other room where there’s a bar,” Jesse said. “You owe me at least a drink for that heroic death of mine.”  
  
It was Xander’s turn to laugh through tears. “At least.”  
  
The two men turned from bloody room and entered the bar.   
  
“Mmm,” Xander muttered. “Looks a lot like the bar, Willie’s, on Oxnard and when I mean a lot I mean exactly.”  
  
“Well,” Jesse said as he nimbly reached over the bar and rooted around until he pulled from out behind it two cold ales, “you didn’t actually get to see the bar where you were being held on Hyperion.”  
  
“True,” Xander said reaching for and taking one of the cold ales.  
  
“So,” Jesse said making his way to a seat at a table, “tell me about Spike?”  
  
Xander nearly choked on the ale he just had sipped down his throat.  
  
“Works better if you swallow,” Jesse advised.  
  
Xander wiped his mouth and looked at Jesse. “What do you want to know about Spike?”  
  
“Does he make you happy?”  
  
Xander sat down on the chair opposite from Jesse and blushed.   
  
“Yeah,” Xander finally smiled and said, “when he’s not being completely over bearing, bossy and an arrogant….”  
  
Xander paused and looked down at his drink.  
  
“Biogen?” Jesse prompted.  
  
“It’s pretty monumentally stupid on the Xander scale of monumentally stupid, huh?” Xander asked before he took a sip of his drink and then continued. “Me being in lo..well being with a Biogen.”  
  
“I may be dead Xan,” Jesse said, “but I’m still you’re best bud. I’ve waited a long time for you to find someone who could make you happy…who wanted you the way you wanted to be wanted. The way you deserve.”   
  
“Well there’s no doubt, Spike wants me,” Xander blushed again remembering that first morning when Spike woke Xander up while getting his “brekkies.”  
  
“Best buds,” Jesse said holding up his hands, “but we don’t need to go all 'Willow' here and share the ‘moments.””  
  
Xander laughed. “Guess this is not the locker room talk you signed up for?”  
  
“Definitely the _wrong_ locker room,” Jesse agreed.  
  
“Well I don’t have to worry about you poaching,” Xander quipped and then paled.   
  
“What?” Jesse frowned.  
  
“It may not matter any more,” Xander said quietly. “You said it yourself, ‘it doesn’t look good.’”  
  
“Xan…”  
  
“You know I can see how the missing the eye thing might be overlooked…outlaw Biogen mastermind’s image only goes up with a ‘pirate looking’ CM but…”  
  
“Xan…,” Jesse tried again.  
  
“There’s parts of me that are never going to work again,” Xander blurted. “Howz he going….?”  
  
“Xander,” Jesse barked. “Listen. Spike wants you. You know that.”  
  
“No, I don’t!” shouted Xander. “How could he?”  
  
“Listen,” Jesse softly ordered.  
  
Xander stared at Jesse. He opened his mouth to fire off a retort but then closed it, took a deep breath and listened.   
  
As if from a great distance and yet at the same time as if it were coming from deep inside Xander himself he heard Spike’s voice. The words were faint but clear, _“Pet, Xander, you have to hang on. You have to come back to me. I need you.”  
_  
Xander gasped and looked at Jesse who smiled.   
  
“That wasn’t him! That couldn’t be,” Xander said frantically and hopefully all at the same time.  
  
Jesse nodded. “Listen, Xan.”  
  
Once again Xander listened. Once again he heard Spike’s voice, _“Stay with me, pet. That’s an order.”_  
  
“Spike!” Xander gasped and smiled finally believing what he was hearing.   
  
***  
  
It was another hour before Fred’s light knock interrupted the soft litany of Spike’s voice whispering to Xander. Spike had been talking non-stop going from ribald stories to admonitions for Xander to stay with him.  
  
“May I come in?” Fred asked as she peeked her head inside the door.   
  
“Tell me you have good news, luv,” Spike said as he waved her inside Xander’s room.  
  
Fred came in and shut the door. She smiled.  
  
“It took longer than I had anticipated. It took several ‘flushes’ before the nanites’ regeneration program seemed to understand they needed to regenerate cells off a new pattern….off of Xander’s blood...”  
  
“Fred,” Angel said halting Fred’s explanation.  
  
“Oh! Sorry,” Fred said as she pulled out a syringe. “They did it. Here it is; the vial of Spike’s nanites in a sample of Xander’s blood they produced.”  
  
“So now wot?” Spike asked as he again began carding his hand through Xander’s hair.  
  
“Now I inject him with it and take a blood sample from him in six hours,” Fred answered.  
  
“Six hours?” Angel asked.  
  
“If I’m right and the nanites begin self-replicate,” Fred said, “we should begin to see the new nanites in Xander’s blood.”  
  
Spike looked back at down at Xander. “Then how long…?”  
  
“I don’t know, Spike,” Fred said. “If they begin to replicate…we should start to see improvement anywhere from twenty-four to seventy-two ship rotations.”  
  
Fred moved over to Xander and pulled a sterilizing swab from her pocket.   
  
“Give us a moment, luv?” Spike asked.   
  
“Of course,” Fred said as she stepped back from Xander and moved back to Angel. Spike looked at Angel and Fred and cocked an eyebrow.  
  
“Oh..uh, Fred, Can I see you in the hall about that…?” Angel faltered.  
  
“About that thing,”  Fred said nodding here head.  
  
“Yeah, the thing,” Angel agreed turning and holding the door open for Fred. “We’ll just be in the hall, Spike…”  
  
“Oi! I got it,” Spike said, “and…thank you.”  
  
Spike watched Fred and Angel leave. Then Spike leaned over Xander and whispered into Xander’s ear, “Xander, pet, I’m sorry I wasn’t there when you needed me. But I’m here now and I’m going ta do everything I can ta make it right. I love you, Xander.”  
  
Spike then gently kissed Xander’s forehead. Then he resumed carding his hand through Xander’s hair.  
  
***  
“You look tired,” Angel said to Fred.  
  
“I’m all right,” she replied.  
  
“Look, after you give Xander the shot, why don’t you get some sleep? It’ll be at least six hours before you know anything.”  
  
Fred looked at Angel. “Only if you promise ta get some too.”  
  
“I can’t,” Angel said. “I have to stay with Sp…,”  
  
“I can get Faith to stay with him,” Fred interrupted.   
  
“I don…,”   
  
“Look, Angel,” Fred interrupted again. “Whether this turns out good or bad, Spike is going ta need you. Sleep would do you good. Even Biogens weren't designed to go non-stop.”  
  
“Faith has had some sleep?” Angel asked, weakening.   
  
“I think she managed ta get some,” Fred smiled. “Doctor’s aren’t _always_ in the doctor’s lounge.”  
  
Angel laughed. “Ok, you send Faith in after you give Xander the shot. I’ll get some sleep.”  
  
Fred smiled and then turned back to knock on Xander’s door.  
  
“Yeah,” Spike called from inside.  
  
Angel opened the door and once again held it open for Fred. Fred moved over next to Xander. She looked at Spike. Spike nodded. Fred once again pulled the sterile pad from her pocket and this time sterilized a spot on Xander’s arm. Then very slowly she injected Xander with Spike’s nanites.  
  
  
***  
“A change is coming,” Jesse said to Xander.  
  
“Oh goody,” Xander said as he took another drink. “Just what I need; more change.”  
  
Jesse picked at the label on his bottle of ale. “Yeah, you’ve had it rough lately.”  
  
‘I guess I shouldn’t complain,” Xander said. “I’m still alive….well for now anyway.”  
  
“All the change hasn’t been bad,” Jesse observed.  
  
Xander thought of the way Spike grinned when he had Xander pinned and squirming underneath him. Xander smiled and acknowledged, “No, not all bad.”  
  
“The thing about change,” Jesse said, “is not that it happens but it’s about the choices you make when it happens.”  
  
“Somebody must have forgot to send Xan-man that memo,” Xander replied. “Seems I haven’t had too many choices lately.”  
  
“You have, Xan,” Jesse argued. “You could have let Spike take the cargo from _The Snyder_. You didn’t have to try and be heroic.”  
  
“I thought he was a kille…,”  
  
“You could have continued to be the good soldier; never given Spike or the _DeSoto_ crew a chance. Could have just stubbornly clung to your attitude about Biogens. You know the whole ‘I don’t like Biogens. I’m going to make a stand and say they’re not good,’” Jesse said as he made quote marks in the air with his fingers.  
  
“You heard that, huh?” Xander said.  
  
“Instead, you gave Spike, and yourself, a chance. You let out some of the pain, let him in and found something new.” Jesse paused to take another sip, and then continued. “And you could have told Caleb anything. You could have chosen to give him information in hopes he’d ease the torture or at least let you die.”  
  
Xander looked back down at his ale.  
  
“Xan, I’m not promising the changes are going to get any easier,” Jesse continued. “But I can promise that you can deal with them.”  
  
“I don’t know if I can go back to what’s left of me,” Xander whispered.  
  
“Well that is your choice,” Jesse said.  
  
“Is it?”   
  
Jesse nodded. “But is it what you want?”  
  
Xander grew silent again. He was tired and it would just be nice to stay with Jesse drinking ale.   
  
Then Xander heard Spike’s voice again from far away and yet achingly near say, _“Xander, pet, I’m sorry I wasn’t there when you needed me. But I’m here now and I’m going ta do everything I can ta make it right.”_  
  
“Spike,” Xander whispered and then looked back at Jesse. _Spike,_ Xander thought and nearly cried, _I want Spike!_  
   
Jesse smiled, finished his ale, stood up and then looked at Xander.  
  
“Do me a favor?” Jesse said.  
  
“Sure,” Xander said furrowing his brows.  
  
“Cut Faith some slack. As far as I’m concerned, she’s still my girl,” Jesse said before turning and heading for the door.  
  
“Wait!” Xander cried standing up. “Where are you going?”  
  
“Not far,” Jesse promised. “See ya around, Xander.”  
  
Then before Xander could say anything else, Jesse was gone.  
  
***  
  
After five and a half hours of sleep Angel once again stood outside Xander’s door with Fred. They both looked worried, but less haggard. Fred lightly knocked on Xander’s door and it was quickly opened by Faith who held a finger to her lips. Angel peered around Faith to see Spike asleep in the chair next to Xander’s bed. Spike’s arm was stretched out and resting on the bed so he’s hand was holding Xanders.  
  
Faith opened the door and let Angel and Fred inside. Fred went to move toward Xander but Angel put his hand up and shook his head. Angel then stepped over to Spike and softly touched Spike’s shoulder.  
  
Spike sprang awake and out of the chair. He spun around putting Xander behind him. Spike was in full game face.  
  
“William,” Angel said firmly. “It’s ok. We’re just here to check on Xander.”  
  
Spike blinked a moment and then shook his head.   
  
“Sorry about that,” Spike said as he slipped back into his human face.  
  
“It’s ok,” Angel replied.   
  
Spike looked to Fred. “So luv?”  
  
Fred smiled and moved next to Xander. “Just need a little sample of his blood and then I’ll do a quick count.”  
  
“Do you need to go back to the lab?”  
  
Fred shook her head. “I’ve modified a ‘Gen tracker. Normally they measure the rate of decay in nanites to determine how long a Biogen has been dead or how old the blood trail is. I’ve just reversed the programming so…,”  
  
“Oi, luv, I just woke up,” Spike complained as Fred rattled off her explanation.  
  
“Sorry,” Fred shrugged and smiled. Then she leaned over, sterilized a spot on Xander’s arm and withdrew a sample of blood. Then Fred withdrew a small device from her pocket and used it to examine the sample. Fred’s eyes grew wide and she looked at Spike.  
  
“Well?” Spike asked.  
  
“It worked!” Fred said with tears in her eyes and the biggest smile she’d had for almost two days. “It worked, Spike! I’m detecting significant traces of nanites!”  
  
Spike turned to Xander and squeezed his hand. “That’s it, pet! That’s my boy!”  
  
Then Spike turned, grabbed Fred and spun her around. Fred laughed. Angel jumped when he felt arms wrap around him and then relaxed when he realized it was Faith. Angel returned the hug.   
  
“Fred,” Angel finally said when he felt the lump in own throat dissolve, “how long before Xander can be moved?”  
  
Spike put Fred down and held her steady until she got her balance. She looked back at her device. “I’d say the sooner the better.”  
  
“Fred?” Spike asked.  
  
“These numbers are really good,” Fred said. “I’d say in another six hours we’ll see some significant tissue regeneration.”  
  
“That quickly?” Angel asked.   
  
Fred nodded. “That’s not all.”  
  
“Wot?” asked Spike.  
  
“Well, soon the nanites will begin to decrease the time it takes for the drugs in his system to metabolize.”  
  
“In English, luv,” Spike growled.  
  
“Biogens process drugs in their systems faster than _pure_ humans,” Fred said. “That’s why Gunn won’t drink with you, Spike. You can always drink him under the table.”  
  
“So…,” Spike began.  
  
“So it means we’ll either need to give Xander a stronger dose of sleep juice,” Faith interrupted, “or we let him wake up.”  
  
“But the nurse said that kept him from feeling pain,” Spike said.  
  
“He may not need it in six hours,” Fred said.  
  
“Can we get him moved on the _DeSoto,”_ asked Angel, “and then see how he is in six hours? If he’s uncomfortable…,”  
  
“We can always give him another dose, yes,” said Fred.  
  
“Let’s do it,” Angel said.   
  
Spike turned back to Xander and whispered, “We’re going home, pet.”  
  
***  
Consciousness was just a glissade from unconsciousness and yet Xander still hung back from making that final gliding step. He floated in a calm limbo of no pain, no fear and most of all no Caleb. However, there was also no Jesse, nothing to do, and no relief from the annoying itch on his right thigh.   
  
Xander thought he moved his right hand towards the itch but all he felt was his thumb brush against his leg.  
  
“Pet?” Spike asked frantically. “Xan?”  
  
Xander tried again to get the itch.   
  
“That’s it, pet! C’mon! Come back to Spike!”  
  
 _Spike!_ Xander thought. _Scratch there for me will ya?  
_  
“Xander,” Spike said again, “C’mon. Wake up. Show me you’re there.”  
  
“Mppph,” Xander said.  
  
Xander heard Spike laugh. _Laugh later!_ Xander thought. _Scratch now!_  
  
“What was that, pet?”  
  
“Scraatc,” Xander muttered as once again he tried to get his hand to obey.  
  
“Still not getting it,” Spike said.  
  
“Leg!” Xander shouted as he finally got his hand to move. “Scratch mmlg!”  
  
Spike saw the hand and grabbed it.  
  
“Spike!” Xander shouted.  
  
“No scratching,” Spike said. “It’s healing. Let it alone.”  
  
“Itches,” whined Xander as he tried to jerk his hand free.  
  
“Lie still,” Spike ordered.  
  
“Bossy,” muttered Xander.  
  
“Cheeky,” Spike replied.  
  
There was a long pause and for a moment Spike thought Xander might have fallen back asleep.  
  
“Spike?” Xander finally whispered.  
  
“Yes, pet.”  
  
“You really here?”   
  
Spike nodded on habit before realizing Xander couldn’t see him. Xander still had a bandage on his right eye.  
  
“Yes, pet.”  
  
“Where am I?”  
  
“Home.”  
  
“The ‘Dale?”   
  
“ _The DeSoto,_ ” Spike said barely keeping the growl out of his voice.  
  
Xander smiled and then frowned. _Smiling hurts,_ Xander thought. Pain reminded Xander.  
  
“Caleb?”  
  
“Dead.”  
  
“Dead?”  
  
“Just another fucking soulless…heartless..Biogen,” Spike said.  
  
Xander smiled despite the pain and locked his fingers with Spike’s hand.  
  
“Thank you,” Xander whispered and made the dance step back to unconsciousness.  
  
“Anytime,” Spike quietly replied as he kissed his pet’s forehead.

**TBC**


	25. (25/43 plus Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lt. “Xander” Harris and Captain William the Bloody have both suffered and lost in the on going war between the Biogens and Council. Now, Xander finds himself a prisoner of Captain William the Bloody (aka Spike). What will be Xander’s fate?

_Xander smiled and then frowned. Smiling hurts, Xander thought. Pain reminded Xander.  
  
“Caleb?”  
  
“Dead.”  
  
“Dead?”  
  
“Just another fucking soulless…heartless..Biogen,” Spike said.  
  
Xander smiled despite the pain and locked his fingers with Spike’s hand.  
  
“Thank you,” Xander whispered and made the dance step back to unconsciousness.  
  
“Anytime,” Spike quietly replied as he kissed his pet’s forehead._

**********************************************************************************  
  
Angel lay down on his office couch and closed his eyes. The news from Spike was good. Xander had woken up briefly and complained of his leg itching. Fred had said the itching would be a problem. Xander’s nanites were doing more than just healing the damage; they were regenerating and restoring dead or missing tissue.  
  
Both Spike had and Angel understood. They’d had enough of their own severe wounds of the course of the years to know what the “healing itch” felt like. _How many times did Spike suffer through it because of me?_ Angel wondered. _Good times,_ whispered Angelus.   
  
Angel groaned as long buried memories tried to surface. _He made such a good “boy,”_ Angelus whispered again and for a moment the sight of Spike’s striped and bloody back haunted Angel. _He forgave me_ , snarled Angel. _Did he? Or was he just too afraid not to forgive you?_ answered Angelus.  
  
Angel flung his arm over his eyes. _I did what I had to save him,_ Angel continued the fight with himself and his memories. _You did what you did because you enjoyed it,_ argued Angelus.   
  
Angel sat up and ran his hand through hair. He took a couple of deep breaths reminded himself that this wasn’t the past. He wasn’t Angelus. This was the here and now. Each choice he made, each action he took was _his_ and not the person the Council had made him.  
  
 _Why kid yourse…_ Angel’s darker side started to whisper. Angel cut the thought off and stood up. He crossed over to the bar and poured a drink. He took a couple of deep breaths while he stared into the amber depths.   
  
“Where are you when I need you, Doyle?” Angel whispered and then downed the drink. _Dead,_ whispered Angelus.   
  
“But not forgotten,” Angel sighed and then smiled. “And he’d tell _you_ to get pissed because Angelus is done. Concentrate on Angel. Concentrate on the people around me and the good that can be accomplished.”  
  
A knock interrupted Angel’s self-help pep talk.   
  
“Yeah!” said Angel. Angel’s office door opened and Wes walked inside. The look on his face didn’t bode well for Angel’s mood. Wes shut the door.  
  
“What is it?” asked Angel.   
  
“We finished with the sweep of the ‘Thorn,’” Wes said.  
  
“And?” Angel prompted.  
  
“Most of Caleb’s known associates were apprehended or killed when we rescued Xander,” Wes explained.   
  
“But?” Angel prompted again.  
  
Wes stepped forward and handed Angel a round vid disc.  
  
“We found this,” Wes said.   
  
Angel looked at the disc and then back at Gunn and Wes. “This isn’t…?”  
  
Wes nodded. “I believe Caleb recorded everything.”   
  
Angel flashed fangs and gold eyes. “Did you watch it?”  
  
“Only enough to identify what it was and what it contained,” Wes said.  
  
Carefully Angel set the disc down his desk before he could snap it in two. “Were there any copies?”   
  
“Not that I could tell, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t any.”  
  
 _Wonder what secrets the boy gave up?_ whispered Angelus. _Shut up!_ snarled the inner Angel.  
  
“This stays between the two of us,” Angel ordered.   
  
“What about Spike?” asked Wes.  
  
“No! Neither he nor Xander need to know about this right now,” said Angel. _At least not until_ you _know what’s on it,_ whispered Angel’s annoying dark side.  
  
“What are you going to do with it?”   
  
Angel looked at Wes.   
  
“I don’t know,” Angel answered honestly. “I don’t know.”  
  
“You don’t think he gave up any inf…,” Wes began.  
  
“I don’t know, Wes,” Angel interrupted. “I know there’s only one way to find out, but I’m not sure watching Xander be brutally tortured is worth it.”  
  
 “Angel, there have been other allies of Caleb there that didn’t get caught. Ones we don’t know about. If so they would be on the vid.”   
  
Angel picked up the disc. He felt the pull of lurid curiosity. It would be so easy to justify watching the disc out of security concerns. _NO!_ Angel thought. _IF I ever I watch this it will NOT be because of some purient need to watch the details of Xander’s suffering. I am NOT Angelus._  
  
“Angel?” Wes asked worriedly.  
  
Angel handed the disc to Wesley. “Lock it up, Wes. I’ll let you know what I decide later. Just for now, lock it up safe some where.”  
  
Wesley nodded and then asked, “Are you all right?”  
  
“I’m tired, Wes,” Angel said and he was. “It’s been an intense few days. I need...I need a hot shower and a long sleep.”  
  
Wes nodded. “Ok, but if there’s…,”  
  
“I’ll call you, Wes,” Angel said. “If I need you, I’ll call you.”  
  
 _I learned that much for Doyle,_ Angel thought. _Don’t go it alone. Humanity comes from being with people; not a part from them._  
  
***  
  
The first few days of Xander’s recovery were a mix of frustration, joy and worry for Spike. He was frustrated with Xander’s “in and outs” of consciousness. He was overjoyed with how quickly the nanites were repairing the damage done to Xander’s body. He was worried about how to tell Xander the truth about Xander’s miraculous recovery.  
  
Xander had been mostly tired and itchy the first few days. However, when consciousness began to assert its full reign, Xander’s mind was as sharp as his mouth. On the third day Xander had pulled off the bandage covering his right eye and marveled at his clarity of vision.  
  
“There’s not even any bruising,” Xander whispered as he stared at his reflection while propped up in Spike’s bed. Xander slowly twisted his body and looked over his shoulder at his back. Xander could see patches of new pink skin peaking out from behind flaking dead skin in the places where there weren’t still bandages.  
  
“Spike?” Xander had querulously asked his constant companion. “How is this possible?”  
  
“Well…” Spike had begun and then faltered. _How can I tell the whelp the truth?_ Spike silently wondered. _What if he reacted badly? What if it set back his recovery? What if he hates me?_  
  
“We have developed an advanced dermaspray,” Spike lied.  
  
“But my eye,” Xander asked as he turned away from his reflection to look at Spike.   
  
“Wasn’t as bad as it looked,” Spike smiled. “Just needed a rest…and some of Spike’s special TLC.”    
  
Spike reached out and gently traced a finger down the side of Xander’s face and then brushed it over Xander’s lips. Xander smiled and sucked the finger into his mouth. Spike hissed with pleasure. _My boy!_ Spike thought. _My beautiful brave Xander!_  
  
Xander suddenly groaned painfully and then rolled his eye back.  
  
“Pet?” Spike asked anxiously as he withdrew his finger from Xander’s mouth.  
  
“Itches!” Xander cried as he tossed his head back and clenched the sheets in his fists. “ITCHEEEEEES!!!  
  
“Shhhh, pet,’ Spike crooned. “Where? Where does it itch?”  
  
Xander tilted his head forward and then looked down at his crotch. Xander hissed and clenched the sheets again.  
  
“Yer just healin’,” soothed Spike.   
  
“Spike,” Xander moaned. “It itches so bad.”  
  
Spike leaned forward and kissed Xander’s forehead. “It ok, pet. It’s ok. It’s a good thing.”  
  
“Doesn’t feel good!” snapped Xander and he hissed again.  
  
“Ok, ok, ok, pet,” Spike said as he gently took hold of the sheets and pulled them away from Xander. “Let’s see what Spike can do.”  
  
Spike went to gently remove the bandages and Xander grabbed Spike’s hand.   
  
“No!” Xander shouted and paled. _I can’t let him see me!_ Xander frantically thought. _Can’t let him see…._  
  
“Xander,” Spike said softly as he stared into Xander’s wide brown eye and interrupted Xander’s panicked thoughts. “First, there’s not any part of you that I don’t want. You will always be nothing short of bloody marvelous and beautiful to me. Second, I’ve already seen what’s under those bandages. Who do you think has been changing them?”  
  
“But Spike…,” Xander started as he blushed and tears formed in his eye.  
  
“Xander…pet,” Spike interrupted again. “Trust me.”  
  
Xander stared at Spike who still stared earnestly at him. Xander only saw patience and gentleness in that perfect face. _And maybe love?_ Xander wistfully thought before he slowly released Spike’s hand. Xander was rewarded with one of Spike’s heart stopping grins.  
  
Carefully Spiked peeled away the bandages revealing the raw and seeping flesh of Xander’s groin and upper thighs. Xander hissed and turned away before he could see what Spike noticed; new pink flesh under the ravaged and burned flesh.  
  
“Oi!” Spike said. “It’s looking better ‘n better.”  
  
“That’s better?” Xander said bitterly.  
  
“Pet,” Spike said as once again he reached out and stroked Xander’s face. “You are doing wonderfully well. You’re bleedin’ amazin’.”  
  
“You got the bleeding part right,” Xander replied dryly.  
  
Spike bit back his laughter and leaned forward and placed another gentle kiss on Xander’s forehead.  
  
“Stay,” Spike ordered as he got up from the bed to rifle through a dresser drawer.  
  
“Arf!” Xander replied from his spot on the bed.  
  
Spike laughed and crawled back into bed next to Xander with a jar of ointment in his hand.  
  
“Lie back down,” Spike ordered.  
  
“Why?” Xander asked staring suspiciously at Spike. “What are you going to do?”  
  
“I’m going to help with that itch you stubborn git.”  
  
“How?”  
  
“Lie down and find out.”  
  
Xander stared at Spike and then looked to the jar of ointment in his hand.  
  
“You aren’t…?”  
  
“Oi!” Spike growled as he used his free hand to gently push on Xander’s chest. “Just lie down.”  
  
“Spiiiike,” Xander whined in a combination of fear of the pain of having Spike touch him, longing for relief from the horrible itch and loathing for Spike to know the damaged part of Xander so intimately.  
  
“Shhh, pet,” Spike said once again as opened the jar and scooped out a glob of ointment. Spike put the jar aside and then rubbed the ointment between his hands. _Need ta warm it up a bit,_ Spike thought.  
  
“Now relax,” Spike gently ordered as he began to slowly and very gently rub the ointment in small circles on Xander’s upper thighs.  
  
“Ah..ha…ah,” Xander sighed as his skin tingled in a brief war of itch, pain and then relief.   
  
“Good, yeah?” Spike smiled.  
  
Xander nodded and closed his eye. The agony of the itch and the healing process abated where Spike and the ointment touched Xander,  
  
Spike continued to gently and lovingly lather the soothing ointment on Xander’s body. He couldn’t help but marvel at the work the nanites were doing. The first day on _The DeSoto_ Xander’s body was so damaged they’d had to rig a special catheter so Xander’s body could evacuate its liquid waste. The second day they had removed the catheter. Spike could literally see how much regeneration of not just tissue but of whole flesh the nanites had accomplished.  
  
Fred had continued to test Xander’s nanite levels and found they were consistent of with that of normal Biogens and so Fred had begun to treat Xander like a normal Biogen. She had insisted on a diet high in protein and the minerals and other nutrients nanites needed for self-replication and tissue regeneration.  
  
 _Whatever fancy equipment the bird wants to steal next from the Council,_ Spike thought, _it’s hers. She earned it._  
  
Xander lay back and continued to let Spike minister to him. He tried not to let the dark memories crowd in on him and concentrated only on the feeling of Spike soothing and treating him. Somewhere in the haze of comfort and relief a new sensation began to creep into Xander’s awareness. There was a new _itch_ in Xander’s groin. It was slight and not even vaguely uncomfortable but all too surprising.  
  
“Spike!” Xander in an astonished whisper as his eye flew open. Spike stopped in mid-stroke, felt the twitch in his hand and looked at Xander. Spike grinned and Xander’s heart fluttered. Little Xander twitched again.  
  
“I think there’s hope for a full recovery,” Spike said.  
  
Xander laughed. _There’s a chance!_ Xander thought. _There’s a chance!_  
  
***  
  
It was the early morning of the fifth day since Xander’s return to _The Desoto_. Xander was floating in that too familiar space between consciousness and unconsciousness. He knew that at some point he’d been itching again. He knew that as was now the ritual, Spike had gotten the wonderful ointment and begun to treat him. But something was different this time.   
  
Xander wanted more. Xander needed more.   
  
“Spike,” Xander muttered.  
  
“Mmm?” Spike softly answered while he rubbed the soothing ointment into Xander’s pink and wonderful new flesh. _Just missing yer short and curlies, pet,_ Spike thought. _Once those grow back in you’ll be right as rain._  
  
Xander moaned and his body took over not needing his consciousness. Xander’s new flesh began to lengthen and harden. Spike gently stroked it with more ointment.  
  
“Spike,” Xander sighed again.  
  
“Need something, pet?” Spike said as he slid his ointment slicked thumb over the spongy round tip of Xander hard cock. Xander groaned low in his throat and thrust his hips forward. Spike repeated the process.  
  
Xander’s breathing became faster and heavier. His lips fell open and beckoned to Spike. Not stopping his stroking and rubbing, Spike leaned down and began to gently nibble Xander’s bottom lip.  
  
Spike was rewarded with the insistent thrust of Xander’s hard staff in Spike’s palm and his pet’s mouth opening wide in submission. Spike smiled and then took what was his.  
  
Xander followed the pleasant sensations assaulting his body like a trail of breadcrumbs to consciousness. He woke to being hard and thrusting into Spike’s hand while Spike was tasting and mapping his mouth. Xander widened his eye in pleasant surprise and moaned.   
  
Spike firmly slid his hand down Xander’s cock to massage his boy’s full balls while he pulled away from the kiss and looked at Xander.  
  
“Mornin, pet,” Spike smiled and then firmly stroked back up.  
  
“Spiiike!” Xander arched and cried in pleasure. Spike chuckled and then began kissing and tasting his pet’s throat.  
  
“Spike! Spike…I…,” Xander tried to say.  
  
“You what?” Spike asked as his suckled his way down Xander’s adam apple and over to Xander’s pert left nipple. All the while Spike never ceased in his rhythmic stroking of Xander’s length.  
  
“How…how…is this..how is this possible?” Xander finally choked out between gasp of pure pleasure and want.  
  
Spike smiled against Xander’s nipple then bit it lightly. Xander ran his hands in the soft curls on Spike’s hair. Spike laved the abused nipple with his tongue.  
  
“Spike?” Xander asked again.  
  
Spike finally lifted his head and looked at Xander. “Aren’t you a little old for the birds and the bees speech?”  
  
Before Xander could answer Spike dove down and attacked Xander’s right nipple. Xander’s hands fisted in Spike’s hair as he once again cried his lover’s name.   
  
Spike’s own cock was weeping with need and was tired of thrusting against Xander’s leg. At Xander’s breathless cry something primal in Spike responded. He needed his boy. He needed his pet. Spike needed to feel him underneath him.  
  
With a surprising mix of speed and tenderness Spike ceased tormenting Xander’s right nipple and stretched himself out over the top of Xander. Spike lined up his hard length with Xander’s and began to thrust against him.  
  
Xander’s hands slipped down from Spike’s curls to mold themselves to Spike firm shoulders.  
  
“This has to be a dream,” Xander moaned as he held on to Spike and thrust back up against him.  
  
“No, pet. This is US!” Spike said as he stared into his boy’s eyes and punctuated the last word with a hard and slippery thrust against Xander.  
  
“SPPPIKE!” Xander cried in response and dug his nails into his lover’s shoulders. Something wild and uncontrollable ignited in Xander and suddenly he was raw sensation. Xander rocked, bucked and screamed against Spike.   
  
Spike cupped their two cocks with one hand while Xander fucked him. Spike threw back his head and growled in joyful dominance and welcomed each thrust.   
  
Xander wrapped his legs around Spike’s hips and for a moment hung over the precipice between want and relief.  Just as Xander began the long tumble down he screamed and jerked Spike to him. Xander spilt his hot seed as he bit into Spike shoulder.  
  
Spike went rigid with Xander’s scream and then felt his own powerful release as blood from Xander’s bite trickled down his shoulder. The two men writhed and moaned as their bodies spilt, bucked and finally relaxed.  
  
***  
Xander once again stumbled to consciousness. He was satiated, warm and sticky. Shortly after Spike and he had shared the most powerful orgasm of his life; they had both passed out. Now Xander was draped over Spike and although Xander was relaxed he felt sticky from the mix of semen and the ointment Spike had rubbed on him. Plus there was a distinctly metallic taste in Xander’s mouth.  
  
 _Blood!_ Xander thought as he remembered another detail from his lovemaking with Spike. _I bit Spike! I made him bleed!_   
  
Xander sat up and looked at Spike. There on his left shoulder were still the imprints of Xander’s teeth. Xander put a hand to his mouth. _What got into me?_ Xander thought and then he made a face. _Yuck! I need to get the taste of this out my mouth._  
  
Cautiously Xander eased himself away from Spike. He didn’t want to wake the man if he could. Spike looked tired from his constant vigil over Xander. Spike had tried to hide it; but Xander had known.   
  
_Some CM,_ Xander thought as he managed to slip out of bed. _I’m supposed to be taking care of him and instead he’s doing all the hand and waiting._  
  
With more grace and stealth then Xander had thought himself capable of he made his way to the small bathroom. Xander was not only steady on his feet; he was surprisingly steady on his feet. This was the first time he’d been out of bed since being brutalized by Caleb. Spike had insisted on taking care of all Xander’s needs and Xander’s complete bed rest.  Still, Xander’s movements were strong and steady.  
  
Once Xander was in the bathroom, he suddenly was aware of another need. _I can’t pass this opportunity up,_ Xander thought as he made his way to toilet. Spike had been making Xander use a bedpan the last several days. The thought of standing up to pee into a toilet seemed like a luxury to Xander.   
  
Xander stood over the toilet and then for the first time in days looked down at his groin. He was so startled him almost forgot he had a call from nature. His skin looked pink and new! There were no scars, no burnt skin and no signs of torture. _Just signs of sex and the need to pee,_ Xander thought as he gently took hold of Little Xander and begun to relieve himself.  
  
  
“How is this possible?” Xander muttered to himself forgetting about his quest not to wake Spike. “Was I less damaged than I thought? Is their dermaspray that good?”  
  
Xander finished answering nature’s call, gently shook himself and moved over to the sink to wash. His thoughts were racing as he scrubbed his hands.   
  
“Pet, you ok?” Spike asked quietly from behind him. Xander looked up into the mirror to see Spike standing behind him with a worried look on his face.   
  
“Just had to p…” Xander froze mid-answer. Something in Xander’s reflection wasn’t right. Xander focused his gaze. He stared at himself. He looked deeply into his own eyes.   
  
Xander’s blood froze. He shifted his eyes from his own reflection to that of Spike’s.   
  
“What have you done to me?” Xander said with a deadly whisper as both his brown eyes began to fleck with gold.

**TBC**


	26. (26/43 plus Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lt. “Xander” Harris and Captain William the Bloody have both suffered and lost in the on going war between the Biogens and Council. Now, Xander finds himself a prisoner of Captain William the Bloody (aka Spike). What will be Xander’s fate?

_“Pet, you ok?” Spike asked quietly from behind him. Xander looked up into the mirror to see Spike standing behind him with a worried look on his face.  
  
“Just had to p…” Xander froze mid-answer. Something in Xander’s reflection wasn’t right. Xander focused his gaze. He stared at himself. He looked deeply into his own eyes.   
  
Xander’s blood froze. He shifted his eyes from his own reflection to that of Spike’s.   
  
“What have you done to me?” Xander said with a deadly whisper as both his brown eyes began to fleck with gold._

*************************************************************************************************************  
  
“Xan?” Spike whispered softly as he took a step closer to Xander.  
  
“What have you done to me!?” Xander repeated.  
  
“Pe….”  
  
“Don’t!” Xander interrupted as he spun around and closed the distance between he and Spike. “Just _answer_ me!”  
  
“You were hurt, Xander,” Spike sighed and began. “Badly hurt. I couldn’t…”  
  
“Couldn’t what?”  
  
“Let you suffer…maybe die…”  
  
“So what? How did I recover, Spike? Don’t try and sell me that story of some new dermaspray because last time I checked dermasprays don’t grow new eyes!” Xander shouted and clinched his hands into fists.  
  
“Fred’s been working on a new project for awhile. It was to be a kind of ‘last ditch effort’ if the war went badly for us,” Spike explained. “When I found you…when the doctor told me what you were facing…I…”  
  
“What? Thought I’d make a great lab rat? Thought I was the perfect test subject?” Xander snapped as his mind raced.  
  
“NO!” Spike snarled. “I was afraid you were dying!”  
  
“Was it all a setup from the beginning, Spike? Huh? Gavin leading me to the slaughter? Letting Caleb work me over? You ride in on your horse to save the day and ….”

“STOP IT!” Spike shouted as he grabbed Xander by the shoulders and shook him. “Don’t you fuckin’ say something so vile!”  
  
“Vile!” screamed Xander as he shoved Spike and surprisingly sent him sprawling out of the tiny bathroom. “Vile is being tortured! Vile is being maimed! _VILE_ is waking up to find out your lover used you as a guinea pig!”  
  
“I was trying to save your life!” Spike shouted as he picked himself up off the floor in the bedroom. Xander marched out of the bathroom and his eyes were solid gold.  
  
“How Spike! How did you ‘save _my_ life?’” Xander shouted once again as he closed the distance between he and Spike. “What was this experiment...this ‘last ditch effort?’”  
  
“Fred and her mate Knox had found a way to stabilize Biogen nanites outside the body for a short while,” Spike hurriedly explained. “It allowed us to introduce your blood to the nanites. They learned to produce your blood cells and we…”  
  
“’We’ what, Spike?” Xander said as Spike faltered.  
  
“We injected you with the nanites,” Spike answered reaching out to touch Xander’s face.  
  
The blood drained from Xander’s face and he stumbled backwards away from Spike’s hand. _They injected me with nanites!_ Xander’s mind frantically screamed. _They injected me with nanites; nanites that reproduced my blood. Nanites reproduced my eye! Nanites are in me…making me…shaping me…!_  
  
“Pet,” Spike whispered softly.  
  
“NOOOO!” Xander screamed and his vision altered as he felt his face shift and slide. Xander spun and saw his reflection in the mirror on the dresser. Once again it was a reflection that didn’t match his reality. The face of a Biogen in full enhanced face stared back at Xander. The face of a Biogen in aggression mode snarled at Xander with features that resembled Xander and had Xander’s voice.  
  
“YOU MADE ME A BIOGEN!” Xander screamed and drove his fist through the mirror. Memories of Council training vids with the focus on the horrors and the evils of Biogens assaulted Xander. _I can never go home!_ Xander’s heart agonized.  
  
“YOU MADE ME THE ENEMY!” Xander screamed again and this time overturned the dresser with a resounding crash as images of Caleb torturing him poured through Xander’s mind  
  
***  
Since Xander had been brought back aboard _The DeSoto_ the whole crew had been on alert. They all had their various motives; security, science, medicine or just because they had begun to think of Xander’s as one of their own. Yet, Faith had her own motive. Faith knew Xander and she knew Spike. Something kept whispering to her to watch them and take care of them because Xander’s change wouldn’t be easy.  
  
When Faith heard the faint echo of Xander’s voice screaming an angry “NOOOO!” she didn’t waste time. Immediately she bounded off her bunk and headed for Spike’s cabin. Along the way she hailed Wes on the communicator.  
  
“Wes here,” Wes’s voice answered efficiently.  
  
“Get Angel,” Faith ordered. “Tell him to get over her ASAP!”  
  
“Faith?” Wes questioned.  
  
“Just do it! Have him meet me at Spike’s bunk!” Faith shouted as she continued to make her way to her Captain’s quarters.  
  
***  
  
“Xander!” Spike cried in worry as he moved forward but stopped as Xander nimbly jumped up on the wreckage of the dresser.  
  
“Am I right, Spike? Am I a Biogen?” Xander growled.  
  
Spike nodded and Xander literally howled.  
  
“Xander, please!” Spike cried reaching out to the enraged newly made Biogen once again.  
  
“Please what, Spike?” Xander shouted as he slapped Spike’s hand away and jumped off the dresser wreckage and towards Spike. “Now you ask for my permission?”  
  
“You were dying!” Spike cried.  
  
“And that gave you the right to…to change me? To turn me into the same thing that tortured and maimed me! TO TAKE AWAY MY HUMANITY!”  
   
It was Spike’s turn to pale as the blood drained from his face. He stumbled backwards into the sitting room.   
  
“Is that what you think?” Spike whispered.   
  
“What else am I supposed to think? You made me a fucking Biogen! You stole my humanity!” Xander accused as he stumbled after Spike.  
  
“And that’s what you think I am, eh?” Spike snapped his own eyes beginning to fleck. “After everything between us you still just see me a Biogen? Something less then human?”  
  
“This isn’t about you!” Xander yelled. “This is about what you did to me!”  
  
“I SAVED YOUR LIFE!” rejoined Spike.  
  
“You made me a…a..monster!”  
  
“Like me, eh, Xander?” snarled Spike who was now in game face as well.   
  
“Well if…” Xander began to yell when a series of loud bangs on the door interrupted him.  
  
“XANDER! SPIKE!” Faith cried.  
  
“GO AWAY!” the two enraged Biogens yelled in unison.  
  
“Open the door!” Faith ordered.  
  
“NO!” the two men shouted again and then looked at each other.  
  
“You had no right,” Xander snarled at Spike.  
  
“I wasn’t going to watch you die,” spit Spike.

“Was that it, Spike? Really? Or was it that you couldn’t just have a human lover after Angel; not to mention a badly damaged human lover? Hmmm? Was that it?” hissed Xander.  
  
“You stupid little prat!” yelled Spike. “Angel has nothing to do with this or us!”  
  
“Doesn’t he? Now that I’m a Biogen isn’t he my godking or something?”  
  
At that moment the door to Spike’s quarters flew open.  
  
“Oh I am something,” yelled Angel as he stepped into the room. “And right now I’m a very edgy something so you’d both better just back down.”  
  
“Get out, peaches,” Spike whirled to look Angel. “This doesn’t concern you.”  
  
“Peaches?” Xander asked snidely. “Such a sweet name for such a sour puss.”  
  
“Boy, you have no idea of the amount of slack I’m cutting you right now,” Angel snarled at Xander before looking at Spike. “Spike, I’m not sure how things got to this point but you need to get control of yourself right now before you and Xander do something you’ll both regret.”  
  
Spike hissed but something of Angel’s words seemed to penetrate the haze of anger and hurt fogging Spike’s mind. Spike took a couple of deep breaths and let his face shift back to its straight human form.  
  
“Xander,” Spike called softly. “As much as it pains me to admit, Angel’s right. We need to calm down.”  
  
“Really!” Xander yelled. “And do you always follow Angel’s _orders_?”  
  
“Xan…” Spike began again but faltered as he noticed how Xander stiffened and then shot a deadly look at Angel. It was almost as if Spike could see the wheels turning in his boy’s head.  
  
“Is that what happened, Spike?” Xander yelled as he moved close Angel. “Was it _his_ idea to use me as a guinea pig? Was it Angel that wanted me to become a fucking so…”  
  
Angel’s backhand connected with the side of Xander’s mouth before he could finish. The force of the blow sent Xander stumbling backwards and down to the floor. Spike once again morphed into his game face and charged Angel. Angel reached out and grabbed Spike by the throat.  
  
“Enough!” Angel yelled in a thick brogue; his own face in fully enhanced mode. Angel shook Spike before throwing him to the floor. Then Angel whirled around and clipped the now up and charging Xander with another backhand which once again sent the new Biogen sprawling. Angel moved quickly and settled his foot on Xander’s throat while watching Spike stop mid-charge.  
  
“William,” Angel began again in the thick brogue, “I want ye to wait for me in the other room.”  
  
“Angelus,” Spike growled and Angel increased pressure on Xander’s throat.

“Now William!”  
  
Spike slowly nodded and then backed into the bedroom. Spike kept his eyes on Xander for as long as he could but eventually lost sight of him once he was completely in the bedroom.  
  
Once Spike was out of the room Angel removed his foot from Xander’s throat. Xander immediately rolled out from under the older Biogen, sprang to his feet and charged Angel again. Angel quickly moved to the side and slammed his elbow into Xander’s back sending him sprawling once more. Angel bent down and picked Xander up by the shoulders, spun him around and then pressed him painfully up against the bulk-head. Xander struggled and Angel kneed him in the groin. Xander cried in pain and doubled over.  
  
“Ye like pain, boy?” Angel growled into Xander’s ear. “Cause I know _I_ do!”  
  
“Let me go!” Xander wheezed.  
  
“Calm down first!” Angel ordered then turned his head. “Wait right there Faith.”  
  
Xander struggled for breath and turned his head where Angel was looking. A very angry and concerned former Regent hovered right at the door to Spike’s cabin.  
  
“I won’t stand by and watch you beat him into submission,” Faith warned.  
  
“You can always wait down the hall,” Angel smiled. Faith growled and then Angel seemed to shudder slightly. “Faith, it’s ok. I’m just trying to get Xander’s attention.”  
  
“Trust me, Bio-boy, you have it,” snarled Xander.  
  
Angel shook Xander but didn’t other wise hurt him.  
  
“Listen, whelp, you are in a full out aggression mode. Right now you’ll fight anyone and anything but I don’t think you actually have the stomach to deal with the guilt later if you hurt some one you care about,” Angel said.  
  
“Well that leaves me free to hurt someone I pretty much detest, yeah?” Xander said as he tried a knee trick of his own. Angel anticipated it, countered it and then slammed Xander back into the wall again hard enough to send his head bouncing off it.  
  
“So you are ok torturing Faith with watching me beat you down while Spike listens?” Angel growled.  
  
Xander shook his head trying to clear it of the pain and dizziness. While the world spun and his head continued to throb something of Angel’s words sunk in and Xander managed to focus his gaze on the Biogen leader.  
  
“Xander, you’re hurt and you’re angry. It’s expected. You have questions. I have answers, but you have to concentrate on calming down. Take several deep breaths.”  
  
Xander was hurt and he was angrier then he ever knew he could be but something about Angel’s words and demeanor reached Xander. He found himself beginning to take several deep breaths and eventually he felt his face shift.  
  
“That’s it,” Angel said softly as he saw Xander meld back into his human face. Cautiously Angel released Xander and stepped back away from him.  
  
“Xander?” Faith quietly called.  
  
“I’m ok,” Xander said softly.  
  
“Put this on,” Angel said as he took off the long leather coat his was wearing and handed it to Xander.  
  
Xander blushed as he reached for the coat. _Oh boy! Nothing like getting caught fighting with your boyfriend and throwing a royal tempter tantrum while completely in the nude!_ Xander thought.   
  
“Pet?” Spike anxiously called from the bedroom.  
  
“Spike!” Xander cried in a mix of concern a surge of lingering resentment. Xander went to move toward the bedroom but Angel grabbed his arm. “Let me go!”  
  
“No,” Angel said firmly.  
  
“Let me…,” Xander started again as he tried to jerk from Angel’s grasp.  
  
“Do you really want to start all over again, Xander?” Angel asked sharply.  
  
Xander’s eyes narrowed. “What do you want?”  
  
“I want you to go with Faith back to my office.”  
  
“What?”  
  
“I know for a fact you have excellent hearing now, Xander,” Angel sighed. “I want you to go back to my office with Faith and wait for me.”  
  
“What about Spike?”  
  
“I’ll take care of Spike,” Angel said.  
  
Xander’s eyes narrowed. “Oh I bet you will.”  
  
Angel sighed again. “It’s a shame you think so little of Spike’s affection. You really don’t deserve him you brat.”  
  
Xander nearly saw red again but there was a slight catch in Angel’s voice that caught Xander’s attention. _Was that pain I heard?_ Xander wondered. _And if so, does that mean Spike’s rejected him?_   
  
Xander groaned as the sudden instinctual knowledge of lovers and ex-lovers made it crystal clear that whatever bond there was between Angel and Spike; Spike had chosen Xander alone as lover.  
  
“Spike and I need to talk,” Xander said.  
  
“I know,” Angel said. “But not now.”  
  
Xander stared at the bedroom. Xander’s head spun from pain and the mess of questions and emotions ranging from fear, betrayal and love. He wanted to go to Spike but even as he thought of it he could feel that anger building in him. _Maybe Angel’s right,_ Xander inwardly conceded.  
  
“All right,” Xander quietly acquiesced. He looked briefly at the bedroom, turned to Faith and then said quietly, “Lead on gorgeous.”  
  
Faith smiled as she led Xander of the captain’s quarter’s and down the hall. She had the need to get Xander thinking about something other than Spike, “Gorgeous huh? That’s a change.”  
  
Xander paused for a second pondering Faith’s observation. _It is a change,_ Xander realized though puzzled where the change had come from. Xander couldn’t think of a reason other than realizing he just didn’t have any animosity towards Faith anymore.  
  
“Well, I guess when all is said in done, you still are Jess’s girl,” Xander shrugged.  
  
***  
  
Angel took a deep breath before turning to face Spike. There wasn’t anything easy about this situation and Spike wasn’t going to like Angel’s solution. However, the still vivid memory of Spike and Xander in full aggression mode squared off and yelling hurtful things at each other haunted Angel.  
  
 _I’ll do what needs to be done,_ Angel thought. _Liar!_ Whispered Angelus. _If you did what needed to be done you’d take both of them in hand and bend them to your will like only **you** can._  
  
“Shut up,” Angel muttered before taking another deep breath and entering Spike’s room.  
  
A fully dressed Spike looked up as soon as Angel entered Spike’s bedroom.  
  
“Why’d you send him to your office?” Spike asked.  
  
“I think you two need some distance,” Angel answered.  
  
“Wot!?”  
  
“Spike, look what happened today!”  
  
“It was my fault,” Spike said. “I lied to him. I held off telling him the truth. Now that it’s out….”  
  
“Spike, there’s too many emotions. It’s all too volatile. He needs to understand what he is and he needs time to learn to deal with it, not too mention to learn to deal with what happened with Caleb…”  
  
“And that’s exactly why he needs me!”  
  
“So you two can tear each other a part and destroy what you have?”  
  
“That won’t happen!”  
  
Angel looked around the room and cocked an eyebrow at Spike.  
  
“This..this was…”  
  
“Spike, let him take his anger and frustration out on me. If he needs to hurt someone let it be me. Let me help him…”  
  
“The way you helped me?” Spike snarled.  
  
Angel closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “How can I answer that, Spike?”  
  
Spike stared at Angel and then took a deep breath of his own. As Spike let out the breath the fight went out of him and he sat down on the bed. He looked up at Angel. “I love him.”  
  
Angel tried to hide his pain but he was sure Spike saw the small flinch.  
  
“I know.”  
  
“I can’t lose him,” Spike said.  
  
“And you won’t,” Angel promised.   
  
“What about the Council? What about the Regent?” Spike asked.  
  
“Well actually that’s a good question. I want you to go on a mission for me,” Angel said.  
  
“A mission?”   
  
“A short one,” Angel assured Spike. “While I help Xander I want you to go check out the Wash colony.”  
  
“The Wash colony?”   
  
“There’s some intel the Council has some interest in it. I want you to recon it. Let me know what’s happening there,” Angel said.  
  
“When?” asked Spike.  
  
“As soon as Faith gets back to the ship,” Angel answered.  
  
Spike blanched. “What about Xan…?”  
  
“Spike, it’ll just be for a few days. I’ll take care of him.”  
  
“I can’t even say goodbye?” Spike argued.  
  
Angel shook his head.  
  
“That’s bollocks!” Spike yelled.  
  
“It’s the way it’s going to be,” Angel answered steely. “I’m not chancing another throw down between you two. And I wouldn’t think you’d want to chance it either.”  
  
Spike snarled but Angel didn’t so much as blink. Spike recognized the resolve in Angel. He wouldn’t change his mind. If Spike fought him on it, Spike would have to do nothing short of kidnapping to see Xander. Angel had made up his mind and Spike could either go along with it or rebel. If he rebelled, he had no guarantee he’d end up with Xander.  
  
“Will you tell him I said goodbye?” Spike finally asked.   
  
“Of course,” Angel said.   
  
Spike nodded and then stood up. He gestured to the door and said, “After you.”  
  
Angel smiled and moved out. Spike walked Angel to the cargo bay. Once there he turned to Angel again, “You never did say what you were going to do about the Regent Buffy now?”  
  
“I don’t know,” Angel answered honestly.   
  
“You know Xander can’t go back now,” Spike said thinking about what the council would do to Xander if they found out he was Biogen. Not only would they reject him but they’d study him.  
  
“I know,” Angel said. “He’s family.”  
  
Spike couldn’t hide his surprise at Angel’s answer and stared wide-eyed at his mentor.  
  
“Xander’s family, Spike,” Angel said again firmly as he laid a gentle hand on Spike’s shoulder and squeezed briefly before turning and disembarking _The DeSoto._

_  
_ **TBC**


	27. (27/43 plus Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lt. “Xander” Harris and Captain William the Bloody have both suffered and lost in the on going war between the Biogens and Council. Now, Xander finds himself a prisoner of Captain William the Bloody (aka Spike). What will be Xander’s fate?

_“You know Xander can’t go back now,” Spike said thinking about what the council would do to Xander if they found out he was Biogen. Not only would they reject him but they’d study him.  
  
“I know,” Angel said. “He’s family.”  
  
Spike couldn’t hide his surprise at Angel’s answer and stared wide-eyed at his mentor.  
  
“Xander’s family, Spike,” Angel said again firmly as he laid a gentle hand on Spike’s shoulder and squeezed briefly before turning and disembarking _ The DeSoto. __  


********************************************************************************************************

  
Xander and Faith made their way silently back to Angel’s headquarters.  They each were lost in their own oddly similar thoughts. Both were worried about the changes happening to Xander.  
  
“Uhm,” Xander said when they finally reached Angel’s offices. “I need a moment.”  
  
“Xan,” Faith said, “Angel said we were to wait for him in h is office.”  
  
“Look,” Xander replied, “Angel’s already caught me doing the birthday suit trauma-drama. I don’t want to do round two while sitting in his office looking like I’m ready for the flasher hall of fame award.”  
  
Faith suppressed a grin as Xander unconsciously pulled Angel’s coat tighter around his naked body. “I see your point.”  
  
“I have some clothes in Spike’s suite,” Xander said.  
  
“You want to go back there?”  
  
“I don’t _want_ to go back there,” answered Xander. “I don’t _want_ to have little mechanical bugs in my blood either. However, I can’t change that, but I can at least change my clothes.”  
  
Faith sighed then nodded. “Ok, let’s go.”  
  
Both refugees from _The DeSoto_ were thankful Harmony wasn’t around. Quickly, Faith and Xander made their way across the lobby and to the elevator. Faith ordered the lift to the second floor and Xander pretended the lurch in his stomach had everything to do with the sudden movement up and not recent memories.  
  
Once again the pair moved without talking. When they reached Spike’s rooms, Faith keyed the door open. The room looked the same as Xander last remembered.  
  
 _How can it still be the same when everything about me is **so** different?_ Xander wondered.  
  
“Xan?” Faith asked. “You ok?”  
  
“Yeah.”  
  
Xander crossed the threshold and Faith followed. Xander wandered over to the packages still scattered about the sitting area. He pulled out a pair of dark pants and a blue shirt.   
  
_Shirt’s blue like Spike’s eyes,_ Xander mused.  
  
“I’m gonna be in the other room,..,” Xander began.  
  
“Check,” Faith briskly answered.  
  
“Wait here?” Xander asked trying to keep the fear from his voice.  
  
Faith nodded. “Right here and no one in.”  
  
Xander nodded and smiled slightly before stepping into the bedroom. He stripped off Angel’s coat and threw it on the bed. Xander went to put on the new clothes and then paused. His nose crinkled as he became aware of his own odor.  Xander still smelled of sex, sweat and the ointment Spike had used to soothe his itch.  
  
 _Ok,not smelling like old sex and medicine while arguing with Moody McForehead,_ Xander thought. He dropped the clothes and headed toward the bathroom.  
  
“Xander!” Faith shouted when she heard the shower start. “Angel is not gonna like this!”  
  
***  
  
Angel paced in his office. _Do I speak in a foreign tongue or a weird accent?_ He silently muttered. _Do I have a poor grasp of vocabulary? I mean, why can I command loyalty but not anything else from my people; like the ability to follow orders?!_  
  
“Faith!” Angel growled into his communicator.  
  
“Boss,” Faith answered sweetly.  
  
“Unless Harm’s reassigned my office again without telling me, I’m here and you’re not.”  
  
“Mmmm Hmmm.”  
  
“I thought I _told_ you…,” Angel paused and restarted. “No, make that I thought I _ordered_ you and Xander to wait for me here in my office.”  
  
“Well about that….”  
  
“Faith….”  
  
“What did you want me to do? Drag him out of the shower butt naked? I think I’ve seen enough of Xander’s package for today. It’s nice but…,”  
  
“FAITH!” Angel shouted and then sighed. “Please just bring him down when he’s ready.”  
  
“I’ll just bring him down when he’s done,” Faith answered. “I don’t think he’ll ever be ready. Shouldn't be long."  
  
“Angel out,” Angel said before walking over to his office bar and pouring himself a drink.   
  
_Wouldn’t it just be easier to take him in hand like we did with Spike?_ Angelus whispered. _It’s been a long time since we made some one in our own image._  
  
 _Shut up!_ Angel inwardly growled and sipped his drink.  
  
 _Break him, take him, make him,_ Angelus whispered in a sing-song chant in Angel’s head.  
  
Angel growled aloud and tightened his grip on his glass.  _That’s not the choice I’m making today,_ Angel vowed before downing his drink.   
  
_And tomorrow?_ Angelus whispered.  
  
“One day at a time,” Angel said aloud. _Right, Doyle?_ Angel thought remembering the saying his old friend had taught him.  
  
A knock interrupted Angel’s inner turmoil. Angel turned toward the door.  
  
The door opened and Faith walked in followed by Xander.   
  
“Have a seat,” Angel said to Xander.  
  
Xander arched an eyebrow but sat. Faith went to perch on the arm rest of the office couch. Angel shook his head.  
  
“You need to get back to _The DeSoto,_ Faith,” Angel ordered.  
  
Faith narrowed her eyes.  
  
“They’re waiting,“ Angel said.  
  
“It’ll be ok, Faith,” Xander said. “I’m sure Angel just wants to go over my manufacturer’s warranty.”  
  
Faith laughed. “Make sure he doesn’t try and sell you the extension plan.”  
  
Xander smiled.   
  
Faith then moved over to Xander. Quickly she hugged him. Faith then stood up and winked at Angel before she left. Silence filled the void of Faith’s absence and Angel and Xander avoided each other’s gaze.   
  
“So…,” Angel began.  
  
Xander looked away from the corner by the door and over to Angel.  
  
“How are you feeling?” Angel asked.  
  
Xander raised his eyebrows.   
  
“Small talk,” Xander answered. “Ok, I can do small talk."  
  
Xander paused for a moment. Angel looked expectantly.   
  
“Right,” Xander began again. “Well aside from the nude round of ‘bitch slap my boyfriend,’ the just-add-nanites-and-regrow-an-eye freak, and post psycho torture trauma…I’m peachy.”  
  
Angel shifted in his seat and cleared his throat. “So…well then?”  
  
“Yeah.”  
  
Once again the room was full of silence and random gazes.   
  
“So…,” Xander prompted.  
  
“Right,” Angel said and then sighed. “Look, I don’t even know where to begin.”  
  
“How about telling me when Spike’s going to get here?” Xander offered.  
  
“He’s not,” Angel replied.  
  
“WHAT!” Xander shouted as he stood up.   
  
“I sent him on a mission,” Angel answered calmly.  
  
“You what?”  
  
“You need some time apart…,”  
  
“The hell we do!” Xander spat as he closed the distance between he and Angel.  
  
“You that anxious for another round with him, Xander?” Angel asked not moving an inch.  
  
“I’m anxious to work out a problem with the man I lo…,” Xander paused then started again. “I’m anxious to work out a problem I have with Spike.”  
  
“Yeah, it looked like it was going so well earlier,” Angel observed.  
  
“Shut up!” snapped Xander.   
  
“How well do you think that talking with Spike is going to go right now when you have all this anger and betrayal bouncing around inside of you with your brand new nanites?  
  
“Butt out!” growled Xander.  
  
“That’s a mature answer.”  
  
“You are not part of this equation,” Xander hissed as he felt the blood surge in his veins and the sound of his pulse pound in his ears.  
  
“I’m the leader of the Biogens. That makes me part of the ‘equation,’” Angel replied.  
  
“I’m not a …,” Xander began to snarl as his fact began to shift.  
  
Angel cocked an eyebrow.  
  
“Spike wouldn’t leave me,” Xander finally said as he willed himself to calm down. _I’m not going to let Angel bait me._   
  
“He would if he knew it was the only way to see you again,” Angel said as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.  
  
“You bastard!” Xander snarled as he felt his face shift and his eyes change.  
  
“All Biogens are,” Angel calmly replied, “except you of course.”  
  
Xander felt his fist connect with Angel’s face before he was even aware he threw a punch. He was gasping for breath on the floor before he was even aware Angel had countered with a punch of his own to Xander’s stomach.   
  
Xander was aware of standing up, grabbing a small end table and then charging. He remembered the satisfying sound of the solid “thump” the table made as he slammed it into Angel’s back. After that, it was all a red haze of anger, fists and pain.  
  
At some point Xander remembered hanging upside down. He was slung over Angel’s shoulder as Angel seemed to be carrying him some where.   
  
“We’ll try this again,” Angel had said while he carried Xander. “We’ll keep trying it again, Xander, until we can have this conversation without you beserking. You’ll learn control all on your own or I’ll beat it into you. Either way, you will learn.”

  
**TBC**


	28. (28/43 plus Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lt. “Xander” Harris and Captain William the Bloody have both suffered and lost in the on going war between the Biogens and Council. Now, Xander finds himself a prisoner of Captain William the Bloody (aka Spike). What will be Xander’s fate?

__“We’ll try this again,” Angel had said while he carried Xander. “We’ll keep trying it again, Xander, until we can have this conversation without you beserking. You’ll learn control all on your own or I’ll beat it into you. Either way, you will learn.”_ _   
  


********************************************************************************************** _  
_

Angel finished wiping Xander’s face with the wet rag and then pulled the thick blanket up and over the still unconscious man. Quietly Angel stepped out of the cell and pulled the door shut.  
  
Angel winced at the sound of the lock clicking into place. He hated locking Xander up, but Angel needed to clean himself up and take a breather. Angel couldn’t risk Xander waking up in another rage or fit when Angel had his back turned. _A holding cell is just insurance,_ Angelus whispered.  
  
Angel turned away from Xander’s cell and stepped into the small room adjacent to the holding area. A painful grimace pained crossed Angel’s face as he realized turning his back on the kid was exactly what he was doing. He turned the water on in the sink, rinsed the bloody rag he’d used to clean Xander and then began to clean his own bruised and bloody face.  
  
As a rule, Angel tried to avoid his reflection. There were too many deeds from his past he still couldn’t quite manage to look himself in the eye over. Yet, there were times, like now when his face was mush, his emotions were raw and the weight of the war was too much.   
  
Angel looked up into the mirror above the sink. _The kid got in a few good licks,_ Angel observed through one swollen an eye: the other was a lovely purplish shade of black. Angel would have smiled but that would have set his cracked lip bleeding again.  
  
 _If he’d had any decent training he’d have lasted longer,_ critiqued Angelus. _You could help him with that. You could take all that raw passion and lithe material; turn it into a dark knight to match your Spike._  
  
Angel ignored his darker self and continued dabbing at this face. Unwanted, but not unwelcome, memories surged into Angel’s mind. He thought about another time and another Biogen.  
 _  
  
***  
  
 _“You know I’m just goin ta kill ya when I recover,” Angelus had purred at the young dark man so carefully trying to wrap a bandage around Angelus’s torso to keep the Biogen’s intestines from falling out.  
  
“Probably,” the young man had muttered.  
  
Angelus grimaced but did not cry out against the pain as the young man secured the bandage. Pain was familiar. Pain was a tool. Pain was friend and foe. Right now, pain told Angelus just about every major organ of his was seriously damaged from the crash. Pain hadn’t even begun to register the other less critical laceration or broken bones. However, the young man seemed to have registered them.  
  
“I won’t be able ta move ya until yer healed up some more,” the young man had said.  
  
“Are ya daft or just suicidal?” Angelus had asked.  
  
The man had laughed. “I guess that depends on who ya ask now doesn’t it?”  
  
Then the young man had gently begun to work on the next wound. He tried resetting the first of the compound fractures in Angelus right leg.  
  
Angelus couldn’t hold back the groan.  
  
“Well, ya could at least tell me yer name,” the man had said and oddly the question helped Angelus focus. “I should at least know the name of the man’s whose goin’ ta kill me once he’s recovered.”  
  
“Not a man,” Angelus hissed. “I’m a Biogen!”  
  
“Oi! Sorry fer makin the mistake!” The young man had exclaimed with not an ounce of regret as he twisted and pulled Angelus’s leg into place. Angelus screamed and his eyes flashed gold. He stared at the young man who now held up two bloody hands as he waited for Angelus to gain composure.  
  
“Ya can see why I made the mistake, yer blood’s just as red as mine,” the man had said before he began to set the next break.  
  
“WHY! WHYYYY are you doing this?” Angelus screamed something coherent this time as his bones were slid into place.   
  
“Shhh,” the young man crooned once again giving Angelus a chance to breathe and calm down from the pain. “I’m just tryin ta help. Ya’ll heal faster once we get everything bandaged and in place…at least I think ya will. I’ll tell ya a secret, I’ve never treated a Biogen before.”  
  
_ _Angelus blinked at the young man who was now splinting his broken leg into place. One down and one to go, Angelus thought._ ** _  
  
_** _“Why?” Angelus whispered.  
  
“Name?” the man replied.  
  
“Angelus,” the Biogen growled.  
  
The young man paused and sat back on his haunches and looked at Angelus. He studied him for a few moments as if he thought Angelus would suddenly disappear or sprout wings or grow another head or morph into whatever nightmare made incarnate Angelus name had become across the galaxy.  
  
“Huh,” the young man had finally said. “The leader of the Biogens himself. The one who started it all.”  
  
“Now ya understand, boy,” Angelus had snarled. “Now ya know why you should run far and fast.”  
  
Once again the man had surprised Angelus. Instead of fleeing he moved back to Angelus and very gently took his hand and then just as gently, but firmly shook it.  
  
“My name is, Doyle,” the man had said.  
  
“Why?” Angelus had just whispered. “Why are ya helping me?”  
  
“Because I choose to,” Doyle had responded as he withdrew his hand and once again set about to work on Angelus’s wounds.  
  
“I’m goin ta kill ya!” Angelus’s yelled.  
  
“That’d be yer choice then wouldn’t it,” Doyle said calmly and didn’t stop working.  
  
“Ya think this will buy ya mercy? Ya think that I won’t kill ya and any other humans I find here just because you aided me?”  
  
That got him, Angelus thought as Doyle stopped and looked Angelus squarely in the eye.  
  
“Ya don’t get it do ya?” Doyle said softly. “This isn’t about you; this about me. This is about _**my** _choice. This is about me doing what I think is right. Now you Biogens, ya might never had a chance ta learn this because of the way the Council brought ya into this world. They grew ya in vats and such. They placed collars and what nots upon ya. But being human is about the choices we make. There’s not a bloody lot we can do sometimes about the things that’s done to us or the things around us; but how we choose to react to those things or how we choose to deal with those situations…well that’s what makes us human.”__  
  
“I told ya I’m not human!” Angelus snapped almost defensively as if what Doyle was saying could wound and cripple him more than any of the injuries from the crash landing on this wasteland colony.  
  
“Yer not?” Doyle said as he once again held up his red bloody hands for Anglus to see. “Ya bleed the same. Ya started out with pretty much the same DNA. Ya may have some super bugs in yer blood and some genetic tamperin ta give ya perks like strength, night vision, regeneration and all the fancies some mad doctor could dream up but yer still human.”  
  
“I’d think even way out here in this dump of a colony ya’d get the news, boy,” Angelus growled. “There’s a war; Biogens versus humans.”  
  
“It’s an old story,” Doyle said going back to his wound tending. “Quite borin’ if ya ask me. Back when it was first told it was called ‘Cain versus Abel.’”  
  
“Yer daft! That’s it!” Agnelus cried as if he desperately needed it to be true.  
  
“I’m daft?” Doyle muttered. “I’m not the one letting my former masters define who and what I am. I’m not the one goin’ on a literal bloody killin’ spree provin’ those same masters right.”  
  
Angelus tried to jerk away from Doyle and screamed, “Leave me alone!”  
  
Doyle paused and then moved away from Angelus. He looked at the pale Biogen with flashing gold eyes and he tried to keep the empathy from showing. Instead he turned, grabbed a blanket and covered Angelus.  
  
“I’ll keep watch tonight but no matter how hurt ya are, I’m gonna have ta move ya away from the crash site come morning,’” Doyle said softly. “Council troops will be lookin’ for ya.”  
  
“Why are ya doin’ this?” Angelus asked quietly and as close to breaking as he’d ever felt.  
  
“I told ya, my poor fallen angel,” Doyle said as he smiled, “It’s the right thing ta do.”  
  
***  


Angel wiped his face again. Even after all these years he still found tears to mourn Doyle. _Wish you were here,_ Angel thought. _I’m sure you’d have found a dozen different, better, ways of dealing with this._  
  
Angel sighed, rinsed the rag one more time twisted it and hung it over the sink to dry. He turned off the water and once again looked at his reflection. Already the nanites were doing their job. The swelling one the right eye was down while the left eye was looking more purple then black.   
  
Angel turned back around and walked to the room with the holding cell. Xander was awake sitting on the cot.   
  
“I’m a prisoner again?” Xander asked.  
  
“No,” Angel said as he walked over and unlocked the cell door. “I just needed a break and wasn’t sure whether or not you were still going to want to clock me when you woke up.”  
  
“Well, in that case you might want to shut that door again,” Xander almost growled.  
  
Angel sighed and leaned against the door frame. “Can’t we talk first?”  
  
“Sure, Angel,” Xander purred. “Weather sure is fine here on Hyperion.”  
  
“Xander you were dying!”  
  
“This is a conversation for Spike and I to be having!” Xander shouted as he stood up.  
  
“I know that,” Angel acknowledged.  
  
“Then why did you send him away?” Xander asked. _And why did he go?_  
  
“Xander, the nanites are changing you…”  
  
“Xan-man’s slow, Angel, but he’s not that slow,” Xander interrupted. “Kinda got clued in on the changes when I saw my right eye.”  
  
“It’s more then just regeneration…”  
  
“Strength, speed, night vision,” Xander interrupted again. “Been through the academy training on ‘How to Kill the Enemy.’ Course they didn’t offer a course on what to do if I _become_ the enemy. Suicide hotline?”  
  
“Don’t even joke about that!” Angel growled.  
  
“What? Gonna beat that out of me?” Xander snapped.  
  
“Is that what you want? Spike to come back and find you dead?”  
  
“I didn’t want Spike to leave in the first place!” Xander shouted. “And I sure didn’t want to be a Biogen!”  
  
“So what are you going to do, Xander?” Angel asked. “Mope? Bitch? Whine? Throw another tantrum? Rage and…”  
  
“How dare you!” Xander choked once again feeling the nanites surging in him and his face shifting. “I didn’t ask for any of this! I didn’t ask to be tortured by some psycho! I didn’t ask for the magical wonder cure…”  
  
“And I didn’t ask to be created in a vat and be a slave for a sadistic fuck,” Angel replied.  
  
“Not the same thing,” Xander growled.  
  
“Sometimes, Xander, we can’t control what happens to us or around us but we can _choose_ how we react or handle the situation. You have a choice”  
  
 _The thing about change is not that it happens but it’s about the choices you make when it happens._ Xander froze as Jesse’s voice floated through his mind like from a half remembered dream. __  
  
“Xander?” Angel asked noting the sudden change in Xander.  
  
“What did you say?” Xander asked quietly.   
  
“Sometimes we can’t control what happens to us but…”  
  
“..it’s about the choices you make when it happens,” Xander finished.  
  
Angel nodded. Xander sat back down on the cot and stared at Angel.  
  
“Tell me about the changes,” Xander finally said. “Tell me about being a Biogen.”

**TBC**


	29. (29/43 plus Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lt. “Xander” Harris and Captain William the Bloody have both suffered and lost in the on going war between the Biogens and Council. Now, Xander finds himself a prisoner of Captain William the Bloody (aka Spike). What will be Xander’s fate?

_“Sometimes we can’t control what happens to us but…”  
  
“..it’s about the choices you make when it happens,” Xander finished.  
  
Angel nodded. Xander sat back down on the cot and stared at Angel.  
  
“Tell me about the changes,” Xander finally said. “Tell me about being a Biogen.”_

*******************************************************************************  
  
Spike once again paced his way across the bridge.  
  
“By my count that makes you’re twenty-forth circuit,” Wesley said as he checked their course. On their current heading, they were only two ship rotations out from the Wash colony.  
  
“Who asked ya?” growled Spike.  
  
“Just making conversation,” Wes replied.  
  
“If I wanted to have a bleedin’ chat I’d start one.”  
  
“Well perhaps I do. Perhaps I find it distracting to have my captain glowering and pacing incessantly.”  
  
“Sod off,” snapped Spike as he flung himself into the captain’s chair.  
  
“You could at least have the decency to get drunk and lock yourself away if you are going to be an…,” Wes started as he turned away from his console to face his friend and captain.  
  
“Can’t. On a mission,” Spike interrupted.  
  
“Never stopped you before,” Wesley observed.   
  
Spike looked up and met his nav officer’s gaze. Wes returned the gaze.  
  
“Don’t have the heart for it,” Spike finally confessed. “Drunk or sober I miss him, Wes. Drunk or sober I’m worried about wot’s happenin’ to ‘im and wot he’s thinkin’….”  
  
Spike looked away. He curled his hands into fists and took deep breaths.  
  
“I could give you platitudes and the rote ‘It’ll be ok….,’”   
  
“Please don’t.”  
  
“I could,” Wes continued, “but I won’t. What I will say is that Alexander LaVelle Harris is one of the most remarkably loyal individuals I have ever met. When all is said and done, I just do not believe it is in him not to at least give you a chance to explain your decisions.”  
  
“Including leaving him?”  
  
“Including leaving him,” Wesley assured. “Besides, given what I also know of Angel, I am sure it will not take Xander long to figure out how high-handed your mentor can be.”  
  
Spike snapped his gaze back to Wes and quipped, “You have no idea, Wesley. You have no idea.”  
  
***  
  
Angel sighed. _How to begin?_ He wondered. _Well…_ , Angelus started to whisper an answer and Angel ignored it as he walked over to the other side of the room, grabbed a small chair and placed in a corner of Xander’s cell. Angel sat down and looked at Xander.  
  
“’Once upon a time’ is always a good start,” Xander said. “Surprisingly less cliché then ‘It was a dark a stormy night.’”  
  
“Fred’s best at all the science and the technical details,” Angel began. “She’ll be able to tell you exactly in what ways your body is changing. I can tell you the ‘generals.’ The stuff you haven’t already figured out. The nanites are reproducing inside of you and regenerating you. They are following their programming…”  
  
“To make me bigger, meaner and maybe just a tad blood thirstier?” Xander interrupted.  
  
“That’s all up to you, Xander,” Angel replied. “How ‘blood thirsty’ you want to be.”  
  
“You must have been parched then.”  
  
“Once,” Angel sadly acknowledged. “You have to understand, Xander, Biogens didn’t have parents. We had investors, inventors and owners. We were brought up with a mental program designed to make us obedient, easy to control and to keep our emotions in check. We had collars placed on us to reinforce that programming.”  
  
“Spike told me a little about it,” Xander admitted. “But I don’t see how….”  
  
“How it applies to you? Don’t you, Xander? The nanites enhance everything about you. Don’t you think they’d enhance your emotional responses too?”  
  
Xander frowned.  
  
“Right now you are a raw power house. You get angry; you react. Your body and the nanites will react even faster than your conscious control can keep up with…”  
  
“I don’t understand…”  
  
“Think Xander,” Angel said looking earnestly at Xander. “Think about how you felt when arguing with Spike. Think about how you felt just before you took a part my office upstairs.”  
  
 _I felt hurt,_ Xander thought. _I felt betrayed. I felt scared._    
  
Xander’s breathing grew heavier.   
  
“Think, Xander!” Angel ordered. “Don’t feel.”  
  
Xander looked at Angel and concentrated on remembering the events without bringing his emotions into it; but he couldn’t. _I’m a Biogen!_ Xander thought. _I am the enemy! I have “things” inside of me; changing me! Spike, did this to me! Spike did this and he lef…_.   
  
Xander’s heart began racing and his breathing grew faster. Once again he could feel the strange sensation of his face shifting and changing.  
  
“Xander!” Angel growled, “Learn to control what is happening to you or these emotions and reactions will control you!”  
  
Xander took a couple of deep breaths. _I am Alexander LaVelle Harris._ Xander thought to himself. _I’m Lieutenant Xander LaVelle Harris. I’m Spike’s pet!_ Slowly Xander began to feel the changes recede.  
  
“That’s it, Xander,” Angel soothed. “That’s it.”  
  
Xander focused his gaze back on Angel and took a few more deep breaths. Xander felt calmer and the changes rushing through him cease.  
  
“That’s part of what being a Biogen is, Xander,” Angel finally said as Xander was back to normal. “You have to keep the enhanced side of yourself in check unless you really need it.”  
  
“So what? Walk around never feeling anything?” Xander asked half afraid the answer would be “yes.”  
   
“No,” Angel replied only half wondering if it was true in his particular case. “You just have to learn a new level of control you didn’t have to worry about before. Your body is enhanced and all the hormonal spikes and valleys bring with it an entire new set of reactions then it used to have. You need to learn what those are and master them…,”  
  
“Is that what the war was all about?” Xander asked as he pinned his gaze on Angel’s face. “Was it all just a big Biogen temper tantrum?”  
  
Angel wiped his face with his hand and sighed. “Xander, it was a little more complic…”  
  
“Explain it to me,” Xander demanded.  
  
“Xander….”  
  
“I’m a Biogen now, right? Don’t I have a right in knowing about this war? About why you started it? How it got started?”  
  
Angel finally returned Xander’s gaze. “I’m not sure this will help with your control.”  
  
“Risk it.”  
  
“How much did Spike tell you?”  
  
Xander took a deep breathe. _Xan-man, practice the control,_ he thought as he anger surged through him thinking of what Spike had suffered while being a Biogen controlled by the Council: controlled by Quentin Travers.  
  
“Quite a bit,” Angel answered his own question as he watched Xander’s struggle for control play across the young man’s face. Xander finally nodded.   
“Did he talk about me?” Angel asked.  
  
“Not so much,” Xander replied.   
  
Angel stood up and began to pace. “I was Quentin’s enforcer.”  
  
“Enforcer?”  
  
“His top Biogen. I was in charge of security and all the Biogens Quentin…owned.” Angel almost spat as he said the last word.   
  
“Ok.”  
  
“I was good at what I did, Xander. I was the best. I was designed not to be just muscle for Quentin but to have brains enough to keep his ‘house’ in order. While Travers could present the civilized and polite face to the world and the rest of the Council I could do and arrange for all his dirty work and with Quentin there was a lot of dirty work.”  
  
“That still doesn’t…”  
  
“It was my idea that Quentin buy Spike,” Angel ignored Xander’s interruption. “I was too well known and too closely associated with Travers to be an assassin. I saw Spike and knew he had the potential. I was the one that suggested the sale to Quentin.”  
  
Xander clenched his fists. _If I didn’t have reason to hate you before,_ Xander thought while he struggled to breathe deeply and keep calm, _I do now._  
  
“Spike was every bit as brilliant as I could have imagined. He moved flawlessly. He was quick and efficient. I must confess, sometimes I hated his efficiency. See, I enjoyed it when one of Quentin’s enemies died; not because they were his enemies but because they were human and if I couldn’t kill Quentin I could kill them.”  
  
“What?” Xander asked. “I thought you were under their control.”  
  
A stunningly beautiful and cold smile passed over Angel’s face as he paused his pacing. “That’s what they thought too. The truth was, Xander, I was different from the very beginning. I was never the perfect Biogen Travers thought I was. I seethed and I hated. The mental programming had always been just ‘noise.’”  
  
“I don’t un...”  
  
“The only thing that kept me under control, Xander,” Angel whispered almost seductively, “was the collar. Before Biogens were sold we were each given a ‘taste’ of the pain the collar could inflict. It was the final lesson to ensure we were obedient. In my case it worked. I behaved, endured Quentin and bided my time…”  
  
“Endured?” Xander interrupted before he could stop himself. _Oh ghods!_ Xander thought _Travers didn’t!_  
  
“I worked for Quentin a long time before Spike, Xander,” Angel said simply. “Travers enjoyed the power trip. He really loved the ‘Thank you, sir’ at the end.”  
  
Xander gripped the edged of the cot and focused on his breathing to keep from losing control as hate, revulsion and nausea swept through him.  
  
“You know, that was the one flaw I saw in Spike,” Angel confessed.  
“What?” Xander wheezed as he kept working on controlling the emotions raging in him.  
  
“Spike, actually believed all the programming. He actually meant it when he ‘thanked’ Travers.”  
  
“Shut up,” Xander whispered not wanting Angel to speak about Spike like that.  
  
“Spike was a true believer,” Angel continued, “and I couldn’t let that be.”  
  
“You _couldn’t_?” snapped Xander.  
  
“No, I couldn’t. I didn’t. I…” Angel paused, looked at Xander and then resumed pacing again. “I…changed his thinking.”  
  
“How?” Xander asked.  
  
“It doesn’t matter,” Angel replied.  
  
“It doe…”  
  
“Do you want to hear how the war got started or not?” Angel growled.  
  
Xander narrowed his eyes and studied Angel. _What other secrets between you and Spike are you hiding?_ Xander thought. He then nodded his head.  
  
“One day Travers sent me on a mission. I was supposed to be buying some information on a rival member of the Council. Information Spike and Dru would use on their next mission for Travers.”  
  
“Dru?” Xander asked. _Were they together even then?_ Xander wondered. _Surely that wouldn’t have been allowed._  
  
Angel stopped pacing again and stared at Xander. “Anything you have to ask about Dru, you ask Spike. You have a right to know about her but their story isn’t mine to tell.”  
  
Once again Xander silently nodded.  
  
“Anyway,” Angel resumed his story and pacing, “the mission was a setup. Instead of being a buy it was a trap.”  
  
“A trap? For what purpose?”  
  
“To give Quentin a bit of his own,” Angel replied. “The assassination feelings were mutual. Quentin Travers wanted Darla Masters dead and Darla wanted Quentin dead.  Darla set up a trap for me and I fell right into her hands.”  
  
Xander’s stomach lurched when Angel mentioned Darla Masters. _Darla Masters, she was the Council woman who rallied the troops at the beginning of the war!_ _She kept the Council from falling apart.  
_  
“And what did she hope to gain by that?” Xander finally asked.  
  
“Access,” Angel replied.  
  
“Access?”   
  
“Access to Quentin. I was his enforcer, after all.”  
  
“But how would that hel…”  
  
“Darla, had this idea. Tamper with Travers most trusted Biogen and let him kill Travers.”  
  
“Tamper with?” Xander just stared at Angel. “How?”  
  
Angel once again paused his pacing and stared at Xander. “She disabled my collar.”  
  
Xander paled. _She couldn’t! She…_ Xander felt his face slip.  
  
“Control, Xander,” Angel gently said. Xander fixed golden eyes on Angel.  
  
“What happened next?” Xander growled.  
  
“Darla didn’t just remove my collar. She ‘tempered’ me as she put it. ‘Temper’ is a much more lady like word then torture. Still, her idea was to train me in a very short time to bend to her will, then she would disable my collar, send me to kill Travers and then I’d wait quietly until she came back and enabled my collar again or killed me.”  
  
Xander’s head reeled. _Darla the early hero was the mother of this carnage!_  
  
“There was only one small flaw in her plan. One tiny, pygmy sized problem,” Angel continued. “The collar was the only thing keeping me in check no matter the mental conditioning _inflicted_ on me.”  
  
Angel paced back to his chair and casually sat down. “’Twas given a man everythin’ he wished for in disablin’ my collar,”   
  
Xander focused back on Angel.  
  
“I gladly went back to Travers and I happily killed ‘im. Happily killed his family and every single human in service to ‘im,” Angel recited with a smile. “That is after I disabled the collars on the other Biogens in service to Travers. As much as I’d loved to do all the killin’ myself, it wasn’t practical. Besides, would have been selfish. Don’t ya think?”  
  
Xander felt a chill go down his spine. Angel’s voice was thick and heavy with an unfamiliar accent.   
  
“Angel?” Xander asked.  
  
“Now,” Angel replied with another stunningly beautiful but frightening smile. “But then I was Angelus and I reveled in bein’ free of my leash. When we were done with Travers I was hopin’ ta go back and thank the lovely Darla fer her graciousness; but it seems she’d become averse ta my company.”  
  
“So you just started killing randomly?”   
  
“Randomly! No! There was a precise art to it! First killed everyone who I ever knew had done business with Travers; which was easy considerin’ I had the password to all his personal accounts. Which also meant I had access to his wealth until the Council froze them. We went after other Council members; specifically those with access to ships and other means of interplanetary travel. It was glorious, Xander! Spike was at my side and together we were slaughterin’ every human in sight and freein’ every Biogen. For every lash, for ever r…wrong doin’ a human died. We’d never known such freedom! We were the doom of humanity and were celebratin’ it!”  
  
“Stop it!” Xander shouted as he felt his face morph and stood up. “Stop rejoicing in the deaths! Yes, you were treated horribly and maybe Travers deserved everything he got but not everyone else! You killed thousands! Did they all do you wrong! Many humans didn’t even own Biogens!”  
  
Angel laughed. “Didn’ matter, Xander! What does right or wrong mean when you have hatred surgin’ through your veins while you have the means and the ways to carry yer passions out, eh?”  
  
“It does matter!” Xander found himself staring furiously down at Angel who still lolled in the chair.  
  
“Does it?” Angel asked staring back up at Xander. “How do you feel right now, Xander? Angry?”  
  
“Yes!” Xander clenched his fists.   
  
“And why don’t you strike me?”  
  
“Because…,” Xander struggled to think. “You aren’t the same person you were then and…Spike believes in you...”  
  
“Because you don’t think it’s the right thing to do and you are trying to keep control,” Angel said cutting through Xander’s excuses. “You’ve been brought up to understand that just because you have feelings doesn’t mean you can act up on them. You were taught feelings are ok and natural but that they do not justify the natural actions you instinctively want to take with those emotions.”  
  
“So what? You are trying to blame your actions on your lousy childhood? I’ve heard that one before, Angel. Biogens didn’t have parents so forgive them if they are psycho killers,” Xander snarled.  
  
“Xander, we not only didn’t have the tools to deal with those emotions we had tools that enhanced those emotions! We were wind up dolls set in motion,” Angel tried explaining.  
  
“And that excuses it?!” Xander yelled.  
  
“You wanted to know how the war got started,” Angel simply said.  
  
“I was right, “ Xander said as he began to calm down and backed away from Angel. “It was nothing more than a temper tantrum.”  
  
“You still aren’t getting it,” Angel said.  
  
“What is there to get, Angel? You were hurt, angry, wanted revenge and when you had the chance you went for it. You reveled in it and now for some reason you’ve had enough you want to stop it. However it just doesn’t work that way. Now there are consequences to the actions you took and whether or not you’ve had your fill of the war the humans haven’t.”  
  
“Do you want to know how I did it?” Angel asked as he slowly stood up from the chair.   
  
“Did what?” snapped Xander.  
  
“Got through to Spike. Broke through his perfect mental conditioning,” Angel replied.  
  
Xander’s eyes narrowed. _There’s a trap here,_ Xander thought. “How?”  
  
Angel took a step forward. “I took the same liberties Travers did.”  
  
Xander’s world went yellow and he launched himself at Angel. He felt his fist connect with Angel’s face.  
  
“Spike, fought me,” Angel continued as he blocked Xander’s next punch, “Seems, his master was allowed but not his master’s dog.”  
  
Xander rushed Angel and slammed the larger man into the bars of the cell. Angel’s head bounced loudly off the metal.   
  
“When Spike complained,” Angel huffed as he threw a punch into Xander’s left kidney, “Quentin had him punished for disturbing him over something so trivial and then made it quite clear that as Travers’s enforcer I could have Spike when I wanted.”  
  
“I’m going to kill you,” Xander hissed as he grabbed Angel’s head and slammed it into the bars in three successive blows. Angel stumbled and fell to the floor.   
  
“Spike finally understood,” Angel said as he curled in a ball as Xander kicked him. “Do you?”  
  
“Do I what?” Xander roared as he picked up the downed man and flung him across the cell.  
  
“The emotional override? The seduction of the power surging through you?” Angel wheezed.  
  
“I only understand you’re a soulless fuckin’ Biogen and I’m going to kill you!” Xander screamed as he once again pounced on Angel. Xander picked Angel up and once again slammed him into the bars.   
  
Angel grabbed Xander and reversed the throw painfully slamming the younger Biogen into the metal bars.   
  
“Really, Xander?” Angel hissed into Xander’s face. “Then what? After you kill me what?”  
  
“I’m going to destroy everything you ever touched! Xander yelled as he attempted to punch Angel who quickly blocked the punch.   
  
“Including Spike?” Angel asked.  
  
“You never _touched_ him!” Xander yelled as he kneed Angel.  
  
“I did!” Angel wheezed and delivered an uppercut to Xander’s chin. “Oh I did! Not just in power or possession but as a lover.”  
  
“Liar!” Xander screamed and slammed a fist into Angel’s kidney. “He’d never forgive you!”  
  
“He did,” Angel said as he grabbed hold over Xander and pinned him. “Who do you think helped him find his humanity?”  
  
“Dru!” snapped Xander as struggled free.  
  
“He first learned about love from Dru,” Angel said, “but humanity?”  
  
Xander screamed and charged once again slamming Angel into the bars. “I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you and I’ll KILL HI…!”  
  
Xander went very still and stumbled away from Angel and then fell to his knees.  
  
“Xander,” Angel softly whispered.  
  
“No! Oh ghods! No!” Xander sobbed.  
  
Angel knelt by Xander. “Xander, breathe and let it go.”  
  
Xander looked at Angel. Slowly his face shifted and his eyes returned to watery and shimmery chocolate brown.   
  
“It’s ok,” Angel said softly.  
  
“It’s not!” Xander cried. “I wanted to…I felt…I….”  
  
“But you didn’t and you wouldn’t,” Angel said. “Do you understand now?”  
  
Xander nodded. _I stopped because some part of me knew what I was saying…where I was headed was wrong…but if I hadn’t…If I didn’t know…._ Xander refused to finish that line of thought _._  
  
“How could he forgive you?” Xander finally asked.  
  
Angel sighed and sat down next to Xander. “I don’t know.”  
  
“I hate you,” Xander said with cool conviction.  
  
“I know,” Angel said then sighed, “but now you know why Spike and I really never could have been…”  
  
“Some part of him will never trust you,” Xander said.  
  
Angel nodded and tried to hide his own shimmering brown eyes, “If it serves your sense of justice, losing Spike is its own punishment.”  
  
 “Do you honestly believe there’s punishment enough for what you’ve done?” Xander asked.  
  
Angel turned and looked at Xander, “No. But hopefully there’s restitution enough and I plan on spending the rest of my life working toward that end.”  
  
“By helping the colonies?”  
  
“That and helping the Biogens find their humanity as well as end the war,” Angel answered. “And maybe by helping you.”  
  
“Helping me?” Xander snorted.  
  
“Xander, you’re beginning to learn about what you are now. You need to learn to control your Biogen side. You need to do that before Spike comes back.”  
  
“Is he?” Xander asked softly.  
  
“What?” Angel asked.   
  
“Coming back?”  
  
“Of course!” Angel said. “Xander, he only left because I didn’t give him a choice.”  
  
“You…”  
  
“Xander, what kind of scar do you think your relationship with Spike will carry if you lose control and you throw down with him like you’ve done with me?”  
  
“I wouldn’t…”  
  
“Wouldn’t you?” Angel’s piercing gaze demanded an answer.  
  
Xander couldn’t meet Angel’s look.  
  
“Xander, let me help you learn control then you and Spike can hash out what happened. Give yourselves a chance.”  
  
“You had no right to interfere,” Xander said.  
  
“I had every right,” Angel said.  
  
“Why?” Xander asked.   
  
“Because you’re both family and I’m not going to let you hurt each other.”  
  
Xander met Angel’s gaze. He looked for deceit and found none.   
  
“Biogens make their families, Xander. Spike became mine a long time ago and the moment he made you his; you became part of my family too,” Angel explained. “Whether _we_ like it or not.”  
  
“I already have a family,” Xander whispered. _Willow_ _! Buffy! Will I ever see you again? Will you want to see me?_  
  
“Isn’t there room for more?” Angel asked.  
  
 _Spike,_ Xander thought. _There’s room for Spike._ Memories of _The DeSoto_ crept into Xander’s mind and he realized there were others he could think of as family; Fred, Wesley, Faith and maybe even Gunn if Xander were under attack and short on ammo.   
  
“Maybe,” Xander admitted.  
  
Angel laughed.  
  
“Anyone ever tell you were a stubborn whelp?” Angel asked.   
  
Xander smiled and confessed, “Nope. Only a stubborn ‘git.’”

 

**TBC**


	30. (30/43 plus Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lt. “Xander” Harris and Captain William the Bloody have both suffered and lost in the on going war between the Biogens and Council. Now, Xander finds himself a prisoner of Captain William the Bloody (aka Spike). What will be Xander’s fate?

_“Anyone ever tell you were a stubborn whelp?” Angel asked.  
  
Xander smiled and confessed, “Nope. Only a stubborn ‘git.’”_

***********************************************************  
  
  
“So where do we go from here?” Xander finally asked as he let his new found calm sink in deep.  
  
“Well, I think a shower would do us both good,” Angel replied as he picked at his bloodied and sweat stained shirt.  
  
Xander wrinkled his nose and snorted. “I’m not sure the enhanced sense of smell is a blessing.”  
  
“You’ll change your mind,” Angel smiled as he got to his feet and offered a hand down to Xander, “the first time you catch wind of an enemy hidden behind full cover.”  
  
Xander looked up and grabbed Angel’s hand, “Enemy? You mean my friends? Buffy? Willow?”  
  
Angel pulled Xander to his feet. He stared at the young man with a new sorrow in his eyes. “Xander…,”  
  
“What, Angel?” Xander asked as he withdrew his hand. “You have some inner pain to share on this one? You said Biogens make their family well what happens if your family no longer wants you? What if Spike hadn’t of forgiven you Angel? What if he didn’t want to be your ‘family’?”  
  
Angel flinched. _I can’t lose Spike,_ Angel thought, _anymore than I already have_. “I don’t believe ‘family’ ever really lets you go, Xander.”  
  
“You don’t know that.”  
  
“No, I don’t,” Angel acknowledged, “but it’s what I believe…but what I believe really doesn’t matter in this situation does it?”  
  
Xander sighed and shook his head. “No it doesn’t.”  
  
“C’mon let’s go upstairs and get a shower,” Angel said.  
  
“And then what?” Xander asked.  
  
“We work on your control.”  
  
“How are we going to do that?”   
  
Angel grinned. “Well by doing something we both enjoy; I’ll needle you and you’ll pummel me and when you can keep from slipping into your Biogen face…”  
  
Xander’s face eased into a genuine grin, “Oh I think it’s going to take me a looong time to learn some control.”  
  
Angel narrowed his eyes a moment and then laughed. He didn’t doubt Xander would be tempted to make any chance to beat Angel down last a long time. However, Angel knew Xander wanted to see Spike more. Xander would work hard despite how he felt about Angel because of how he felt about Spike.  
  
***  
  
“I’m not feeling too good about this,” Gunn said as he resettled his weapon for the sixth time as he waiting for the ship to finish landing.  
  
“You and me both Charlie boy, “Spike replied.  
  
“Wes,” Faith called into her communicator, “any hails yet?”  
  
“Still silent,” Wes’s voice drifted to the trio in the hold.  
  
“Fred?”  
  
“I’m still picking up very little ambient movement. Nothing, though, like you would expect from a thriving colony.”  
  
“Heat signatures?” Spike asked.  
  
“Many,” Fred paused a moment too long and the crew could feel the young woman’s dread in the momentary silence, “but the larger signatures aren’t consistent with ‘life.’”  
  
“Decay?” Spike asked. _There, he was the Big Bad. He’d said it first,_ Spike thought.  
  
“Yes,” came Fred’s quiet and resigned reply.  
  
“Look alive down there boys and girl,” Spike ordered as the ship landed, “cuz we may be the only thing that is.”  
  
***  
Spike didn’t need to be a Biogen to pick up on the stench of the decay Fred had so accurately predicted.   
  
“Damn!” Gunn choked as the trio departed _The DeSoto’s_ gangplank.  
  
“Stay sharp, Charlie Boy, “Spike ordered as he took point.   
  
Death and decay were as much a part of Spike’s existence as light and day. It was more than a fact of life; it was very much a central tenet of his life. Senseless as wasteful death was far too familiar. Yet the destruction and remains of the colony spread out before him like a buffet of horror was an unwelcome reminder of those truths.  
  
“Biogens!” Faith spat as she stepped closer to the bullet riddled body of a mother curled a top a lifeless child.  
  
“Rogues?” Gunn asked.  
Spike stepped closer to the bodies and crouched down. Spike spent a few moments studying the gruesome remains.  
  
“No,” Spike finally answered Gunn. “Too clean.”  
  
“Clean!” Faith snarled.  
  
Spike stood back up and looked at his crew.  
  
“If it had been Biogens, Mum here would have been made to watch the bint be killed before being snuffed.”  
  
“Are you….”  
  
“It’s wot I would have done,” Spike cut off Gunn’s question.  
  
Faith and Gunn reflexively tightened their grip on their weapons. Spike sighed.  
  
“Spread out,” Spike ordered. “You’ve got ten clicks to look for any survivors and record wot you see. We’re leaving in eleven clicks.”  
  
“Spike?” Faith asked.  
  
“Somebody’s playing games and we’re not playing ‘til we know who the other team is and wot the stakes are,” Spike answered. “Move out. You got nine clicks left.”  
  
***  
  
Xander grimaced and then sluiced away the soapy grime from his torso. It had been several days since his talk with Angel in the cell. In the beginning it had been two days of pounding sessions with Angel that always ended the same; Xander coming to bloodied and bruised after a Biogen berserk. By the third day Xander had managed to keep his human face. _A reward in of it’s self,_ Xander had thought. Still progress was slow and the time away from Spike long.  
  
“Damnit!”  Xander shouted as he slammed his fist into the shower wall. The wall held fast; Xander’s knuckles didn’t.  
  
Xander turned around and leaned against the wall as he cradled his injured hand and let the water pound down on him. Immediately, Xander felt that increasingly familiar tingle signaling the nanites at work healing his injury. The perverse side of Xander wanted to keep pounding his hand into the wall and try and force the injury to stay around longer.  
  
 _Who’d ever think the Xan-man would miss his lumps and bruises,_ Xander bitterly thought as he let the nanites do their work. _Who’d have thought I’d come to think of pain and injury as humanity badges?_  
  
Xander turned his attention away from his healing knuckles and back to finishing his shower. He’d been too tired the night before and now getting rid of the grime and stale sweat was as close to bliss he’d had come since Spike’s tender ministrations on _The DeSoto_.  
  
 _Spike,_ Xander thought as he chased the water with his hands, _I miss you washing me. I miss your hands._  
  
Xander laughed a little. _I’ll never admit if of course, you’re too full of yourself and have too much a hold over the Xander as it is.  
_  
When he was done rinsing, Xander stepped out of the shower and shook his head. Water sprayed around the bathroom. Xander smiled at the imagined “OI!” Spike would have shouted if he’d been there.  
  
Xander grabbed his towel and dried himself off before stumbling nude into the bedroom and collapsing face first on the bed. Xander inhaled deep.  
  
He might never get used to the accelerated healing caused by the nanites. Xander might not even fully master his body’s enhanced reactions to his emotions. However, Xander did find use for his Biogen senses.   
  
Though it had been long before Xander’s torture since Spike had last slept in the bed, Xander’s sense of smell could still pick up Spike’s scent.   
  
“Spike,” Xander whispered as he breathed in his lover’s scent. “Come back, Spike. Please come back soon.”  
  
Xander rolled over on to his back. He had made progress in controlling his emotions.   
  
“Harm’s still got all her fingers, toes and big hair,” Xander muttered.   
  
Angel’s latest test of Xander’s control had been to let Harmony stutter and sob her way through an apology for her unintended part of Xander’s abduction. Her apology had been as over the top as her fashion sense.  
  
Xander had held on to his sanity through his anger but for one eerie moment he had to admit how tempted he was to get rid of Harmony and not just for his own sanity but for humanity’s as well.  
  
“Xander,” Angel’s voice drifted from Xander’s communicator.  
  
Xander groaned, rolled out of the bed and made his way to the pile of discarded dirty clothes. Xander fished through the garments and pulled out the communicator.  
  
“What Bio-boy?” Xander answered. Xander could almost hear Angel’s pause for patience. Xander smiled. _Never think I’ll give one inch to you, Angel. An uneasy alliance is the best you can hope from me._  
  
“We'll meet in my office this morning,” Angel finally replied.  
  
“In the mood for another redecorating session?” Xander purred.   
  
“I’ll see you in a rotation.”  
  
Xander sighed and picked up his dirty clothes.   
  
“Another day,” Xander muttered. “Another throw down.”  
  
Xander comforted himself with thoughts of Spike’s cocky grin as he got ready to meet Angel.  
  
***  
  
Angel turned the round vid disc over for the sixth time. He knew what he was about to do to Xander would be pushing Xander’s new control past all boundaries but it was the ultimate test for Xander. If he could keep his control through this; he could keep his control through the hard times with Spike.  
  
 _Plus, you finally have a an excuse to watch the vid_ , purred Angelus.  
  
Angel pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to force his dark voice back into quiet submission. A knock on the door followed by Xander’s entrance interrupted Angel.  
  
“Headache?” Xander asked. “We haven’t even started with the insults yet.”  
  
“Sit down, Xander,” Angel replied.  
  
Xander narrowed his eyes and took a sit. “What’s the game plan today?”  
  
Angel stood up and loaded the vid disc into the viewer in the corner of his office and then returned to his seat behind his desk.  
  
“Wes found this at ‘The Thorn’,” Angel said as he turned to Xander.  
  
Xander paled but kept his voice steady as he asked, “What is it?”  
  
“Caleb had his session with you recorded,” Angel answered simply.  
  
Suddenly the room seemed to devoid of oxygen as Xander panted through his shock. _Fucking Biogen bastard!_ Xander’s mind screamed even as he fought for control. Xander could feel the red rage just behind his eyes and his face slipping into the monstrous visage he hated.  
  
“So, fun viewing Angel?” Xander spat. “Bring back warm and fuzzy memories? Maybe you picture yourself in Caleb’s pl….”  
  
“I haven’t watched it,” Angel interrupted calmly.  
  
“Then how the fuck do you know what’s on it?” screamed Xander.  
  
“Wes, found it. When he realized what it was he shut it off and brought me the disc.”  
  
Xander clenched his hands until his fingernails burrowed deep into his palms causing pain and blood. _Wes, saw it! Wes saw me!_ Xander’s thoughts were frantic with the remembered horror and shame.  
  
“Xander…” Angel began.  
  
“Why now? Is this another fucking test?” Xander yelled. “I watch this with a smile on my face and you’ll end this stupid separation between Spike and I?”  
  
“Yes,” Angel answered. He refused to lie to Xander about this.   
  
_But are you going to mention you want to watch it for intel reasons as well,_ purred Angel’s dark voice. _Or don’t you buy your own lie? Perhaps you just want to see if Caleb’s technique was better than yours?_  
  
“Oh yeah,” Xander replied. “I can see just how fine an example of humanity you are, Bio-boy!”  
  
“Xander,” Angel sighed. “Perhaps you need to see it too.”  
  
“Me? See it? Newsflash beaker baby, I LIVED it!”  
  
“And how much of you do you really remember?”  
  
Xander jumped up and pounded his fists down on Angel’s desk. “All of it!”  
  
“Do you, Xander?” Angel asked calmly. “My experience says that people block as much of trauma out as they can.”  
  
“If I remember, your forte is at traumatizing and not being traumatized,” Xander snarled. “I hardly think that makes you an ‘expert.’”  
  
“You’d be surprised,” Angel replied.  
  
Xander pounded his fists on the desk again before forcing himself to step away from Angel. _Keep it together, Xander._ _Don’t fall a part before Angel even gets this show started._  
  
“Besides, it might help you with Spike,” Angel said.  
  
“How do you figure that, Bio-boy?”  
  
“Maybe if you see what Spike saw….see yourself as Spike saw you,” Angel started.  
  
“I might understand why he made the decision he did?” Xander finished.   
  
Angel nodded. Xander sighed and then sat back down on the couch.  
  
 _You need to get through this Xander,_ Xander thought. _McBroody has set the bar for this “test” and I intend to sail clean over it. I’m tired of being away from Spike. Besides,_ _Angel, and I can’t believe I’m thinking this, may be right about needing to see Spike’s point of view._  
  
Xander cast a look at Angel and then relaxed back against the couch. “No popcorn?”  
  
Angel turned and hit the remote button to activate the viewer.  
  
***  
  
Spike paced in the _The DeSoto’s_ hold. He’d been ready for the ship to land rotations ago and the clicks it was taking for Wes to land on Hyperion were driving him mad.  
  
“How much longer!” Spike snarled in full game face.   
  
“One click less then when you asked me the last time,” Wes replied trying to hide his amusement at Spike’s impatience. The trip back from the Wash colony had been long and grim. No one could forget the images of carnage they had seen. The lack of any survivors had made it worse. The only thing to lighten the crew’s mood was the impending reunion between their Captain and his CM. Everyone hoped for a happy ending because they all could use one.  
  
“One of these days someone’s going to prove you’re not as smart as you think you are, Percy,” Spike growled back using the diminutive he knew Wes hated.  
  
“Perhaps,” Wes replied, “but I doubt very much that it will be you on that day.”  
  
Spike tried to hide his laugher at Wes’s cheeky response. It came out some where between a growl and a cough.  
  
“You got those images all together on one vid?” Spike asked changing the subject.  
  
“Yes,” Wes replied. “And I’ve got your report logged too.”  
  
“You and Faith…”  
  
“Faith and I will make the report detailing your suspicions while you take care of Xander,” Wes replied.  
  
Spike growled again and then asked, “How much longer ‘til we land?”  
  
Wes didn’t push his luck in laughing his response, “Five more clicks.”  
  
***  
  
Xander’s nanites were working overtime in trying to repair the continued damage Xander’s was inflicting on the palm of his hands and to his bottom lip. The images of his own torture were more brutal than he had remembered and yet they were so well ingrained in his consciousness he could almost feel every blow and strike again as he watched them on being delivered on the screen.  
  
“Well, Mr. Harris,” Caleb seethed into Xander’s ear. “Seems you provoked me into something I wasn’t ready to do yet. I was hoping to give you some more images but by the look of your eye I can tell that’s not going to happen any time soon…or at all.”  
  
Xander had long given up on trying to keep his human face and now he gave up trying to stop the growls from emanating deep from within the back of his throat.  
  
Angel split his focus from watching the vid to watching Xander. _I’m pushing him too hard,_ Angel thought even as he kept the viewer going. Angel worked hard to keep his face from shifting. Caleb had been brutal. _And good,_ Angelus admitted.  
  
Angel shifted in his seat and once again tried to make out more features of the silhouetted figure lurking in the back of the room. _Who is that?_ Angel wondered. All Angel knew was that it was someone who hadn’t been in the room when they rescued Xander.  
  
There was the faint hiss of a torch being activated. Xander locked down as tight on his control as he could. _This is the never seen before footage of the Xan-man,_ Xander thought and nearly gave over to the sea of rage as he saw the torch in Caleb’s hand flick over his thigh.  
  
***  
  
Spike didn’t even try to wait for his crew once they landed on Hyperion. Spike didn’t even try to walk to Angel’s HQ. Spike used all his Biogen strength and speed to rush as quickly back to Xander as he could.  
  
 _This time Angel can bloody well sod off!_ Spike thought as he rushed back to his Pet. _Xander an me are gonna talk this out, kiss’n make up and then shag ourselves silly!_  
  
Spike stormed into the HQ only to hear Xander screaming,” SPIKE! SPIIIIIKEEE…SPIIIKELIKESWHISKEEEEY!”  
  
There was no thought or even instinct. Spike slipped into full Biogen mode and ran towards the sound and the smell of his terrified Xander.  
  
***  
  
Angel noted the mysterious figure had slipped out of the room shortly after Caleb had begun torturing Xander with the torch.  
  
 _Why then?_ Angel thought. _Xander hadn’t given away any useful information. Why not stick around longer? And was it coincidence he left just before we arrived? Had he been tipped off some how?  
_  
The mystery of the mysterious “other” was distracting to Angel. So distracting he failed to notice how rigidly Xander was locked into position on the couch. So distracting he failed to pick up the scent of Spike entering the building.   
  
The only thing to break Angel’s distraction was the vid version of Xander whispering _“Spike, I love you,”_ and a fully enraged Spike barreling into his office.  
  
***  
Spike burst his way into Angel’s office and noticed first that his Pet was rigid with fear and control on the couch and secondly that there was a viewer replaying Spike and Xander’s worst nightmare.  
  
Angel looked up at Spike. “Spike….”  
  
Spike didn’t care what Angel had to say. He grabbed the bigger Biogen and threw him out of the chair and against the wall.  
  
“IS THIS HOW YOU HELP? HUH ‘GELUS!!!!” Spike snarled and then drove his fist into Angel’s face. “MAKE XANDER RELIVE THIS?!!”  
  
“Spike…,” Angel tried again.  
  
Spike struck Angel again knocking him to the ground. Then Spike ripped the viewer out of the wall. Sparks and wires spilled ever where. Spike ignored them and Angel as he turned and went to Xander.   
  
Xander managed to get to his feet before Spike reached him.  
  
“Spike,” Xander whispered past his fangs and all the overwhelming emotions seeking to drag him down into beserker mode.  
  
“Xander,” Spike whispered in return as he gently reached out and cupped Xander’s face. Spike stood there letting all his senses but taste revel in Xander. Spike abored Xander's pain and loss through osmosis and touch. He whispered another word, “Pet.”  
  
Xander smiled for the first time in game face and nodded.   
  
“Spike…,” Angel tried again as he pulled himself to his feet.  
  
Spike spun around and snarled at Angel, “I’m taking my Pet upstairs. Butt in again and I’ll put you down myself!”  
  
Spike then turned around again and gently, but firmly grabbed hold of Xander’s arm and led him out of Angel’s office.

**TBC**


	31. (31/43 plus Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lt. “Xander” Harris and Captain William the Bloody have both suffered and lost in the on going war between the Biogens and Council. Now, Xander finds himself a prisoner of Captain William the Bloody (aka Spike). What will be Xander’s fate?

_Spike spun around and snarled at Angel, “I’m taking my Pet upstairs. Butt in again and I’ll put you down myself!”  
  
Spike then turned around again and gently, but firmly grabbed hold of Xander’s arm and led him out of Angel’s office._  


*******************************************************************************************************

Xander was in a bit of a daze as he rode the elevator with Spike.  There were just too many emotions, too much uncertainty, and most of all there was too much need.  
  
“Pet,” Spike spoke softly, “the lift's stopped.”  
  
Xander found some focus and smiled sheepishly as Spike kept the doors of the elevator from closing.  
  
“Right,” Xander said and exited from the elevator. He headed toward Spike’s suite.  
  
The walk was short but Xander mentally measured each step. He had to focus on something and if he focused on Spike they might not ever reach the suite; for many reasons.  
  
“Xander?” Spike once again spoke softly, almost as if he were afraid of scaring Xander. “Are you all right?”  
  
Xander looked at Spike before answering. Spike was in his human face once again. His brilliant blue eyes were hungrily studying Xander.  
  
“Yes…No…,” Xander stammered. The harrowing images and sounds from the vid of his torture were still just on the edge of his consciousness. Xander pushed them back. There was a time for that but right now he wanted to just concentrate on Spike. “Can this wait until we get inside?”  
  
Spike waved his hand over the bioscan lock. The locked clicked and Spike opened the door.  
  
“After you, pet,” Spike said as he swept his arm forward.  
  
“Beauty before age,” Xander replied as he stepped inside. _We’re going to clear the air,_ Xander vowed.  
  
“Cheeky git,” Spike laughed as he followed Xander. Spike shut the door after him.  
  
“Security lock alpha.” Spike ordered. Xander turned at the audible click of the door locks engaging. He cocked an eyebrow.  
  
“No one gets in without my express verbal consent,” Spike said.  
  
“How about out?” Xander asked automatically.  
  
Spike couldn’t hide the pang of hurt at Xander’s question.  
  
“Yer, not my prisoner,” Spike said.  
  
“Sorry,” Xander said. “I didn’t mean…I just…Xan-man’s mouth engaged before brain.”  
  
Spike nodded at Xander’s fumbled explanation.  
  
The two men stared at each other. The chasm of unsaid things was so big between them and there didn’t seem to be any starting point.  
  
“Drink?” Spike finally went with the familiar.  
  
Xander shook his head.  
  
“Pet,” Spike sighed and took a step toward Xander.  
  
“Why did you leave?” Xander abruptly fired the question as he stepped back away from Spike.  
  
Spike halted and looked at his aching boy. Spike sighed again before turning to head for his bar.  
  
“You were there, pet,” Spike answered as he poured himself a drink.  
  
“I was there when I figured out what you did to me and the beginning of the explanation,” Xander said.  
  
Spike swirled amber liquid in his glass and looked up at Xander.  “Don’t forget the part about you beginning to berserk.”  
  
“Is that why you left?”  
  
“Angel…”  
  
“Fuck Angel!” Xander yelled.  
  
“Would rather fuck you,” Spike replied.  
  
Xander couldn’t stop the blush and the surge of need that raced through him at Spike’s words. Nor did Xander miss the slight tilt of Spike’s head as he sniffed the air for more then just the strong smell of his drink. Spike smiled.  
  
“Quit trying to change the subject,” Xander managed to say as he unconsciously sniffed the air in return and smelt the smoked-musky smell of Spike. Xander blushed again.  
  
“I left because Angel was right,” Spike said before downing his drink.  
  
“What?”  
  
“I could have lived with it if you had beaten seven kinds of shit out of me, Xan, while you were ‘serking and such. Wouldn’t be the first lover to do so,” Spike said. “But could you have lived with it? Would you have forgiven yerself?”  
  
“I wouldn’t…,” Xander started to say even as he rushed forward a few steps towards Spike.  
  
“You woulda mate,” Spike said piercing a fierce gaze at Xander. “You were ragin’ and…”  
  
“I’m not your other lovers, Spike,” Xander said. “I’m not Angel!”  
  
“But you were a new Biogen reactin’ ta emotions with a new body…”  
  
“That doesn’t mean you had to leave for days! Maybe a few hours! I could understand that, then we could have tried to talk again. _You_ could have been the one to help me with my control!”  
  
Spike stared down at his empty glass. He mentally debated the merits of another drink before deciding to put the glass back on the bar.  
  
“Angel didn’t send me on a mission that lasted only hours,” Spike finally said and looked at Xander.  
  
“A mission…,” Xander began to yell again.  
  
“There’s still a war on,” Spike replied softly remembering the horrors he had yet to report to Angel.  
  
Xander’s mouth snapped shut at Spike’s words and his tone. Xander stared at Spike. Spike looked tired, spent and seemed to missing some of the brash fire Xander was used to being exquisitely burned by.  
  
“What happened?” Xander asked softly as he stepped towards Spike.  
  
Spike managed a small smile and stepped away from the bar to meet Xander half way. “Nuthin’ I want to talk about right now.”  
  
“Spike,” Xander began to argue.  
  
“I’ll tell you,” Spike promised as he reached out and gently ran a finger down the side of Xander’s left cheek. “Right now I just want to talk about us. I did my mission for ‘kith and kin’, now I want to make us right.”  
  
“Biogen and Council?” Xander retorted with a slight chuckle. “How’s that ever going to be right?”  
  
“Like this,” Spike said as he leaned forward and brushed his lips across Xander’s. Xander gasped and instinctively grabbed Spike’s shoulders.  
  
Spike took advantage of Xander’s gasp to slip his tongue inside Xander’s parted lips. Spike wrapped his arms around Xander and pulled him close as he deepened the kiss.  
  
Xander groaned and opened his mouth wider letting Spike explore, taste and devour. Xander tightened his grip on Spike even as his senses whirled with the taste of whiskey and Spike. The smoky musky scent of Spike enveloped him and Xander groaned again.  
  
Spike swallowed Xander’s groan and pulled his pet’s hips close until Spike could brush and grind his need against Xander’s answering bulge.  
  
Xander leaned his head back in reaction to the intense contact.  
  
“Spike!” Xander panted.  
  
Spike answered by kissing and laving Xander’s throat. Xander thrust against Spike unconsciously.  
  
“I missed you, pet,” Spike murmured at the hollow base of Xander’s throat.  
  
Xander wanted to melt. He wanted to fall to the floor, spread his legs and let Spike consume him. Yet, there was still too much unsaid left between them.  
  
“Spike,” Xander said more forcefully then he felt. “We need….”  
  
Spike broke away from nibbling Xander’s neck. He met Xander’s heated gaze.  
  
“I couldn’t let you die, pet,” Spike said simply. “Hate me for it if you have to but I couldn’t let you die.”  
  
 _Hate?_ Xander thought as Spike’s words registered. _I don’t hate him! I couldn’t! I just…is that what he thought?_  
  
“I can’t hate you, Spike,” Xander said.  
  
Spike smiled, “Then forgive me, pet.”  
  
“Spike,” Xander said frantic to get Spike to understand. “But don’t you see what you’ve done?”  
  
“No! I feel what I’ve done,” Spike answered. “I feel a warm, willing and very much alive _you_ in my arms and that’s all I need.”  
  
“What about what I need?” Xander asked.  
  
“What is that, Xander?”  
  
“What about my friends? What about Buffy? What about Willow? What about my rank…”  
  
“Were ya goin’ ta leave me then, pet?” Spike asked interrupting Xander.  
  
“What?” Xander asked startled by the question. “NO!”  
  
“Then?”  
  
“Spike, I’m a Biogen now! I’m the enemy.”  
  
Spike raised his hands and cupped Xander’s face. He stared at Xander.  
  
“Would they accept you for lovin’ me?” Spike asked.  
  
Xander stared back. _Would they?_ Xander had never really stopped to think about it. There never really had been the time. _Willow_ _would have been happy if I really convinced her it was real,_ Xander thought. _Buffy would have thought I’d been compromised but she would still love me._  
  
“I don’t know. Maybe..probably…after I explained,” Xander stammered.  
  
“And would you have gone back to them?” Spike asked.  
  
“To stop the war,” Xander answered.  
  
Spike smiled and stole a brief kiss. “Yer a white knight aren’t ya, pet? Ya believe in happy endings, the good will prevail and clear sailin’?”  
  
“Spike,” Xander began and was silenced by Spike’s gentle finger pressing against his lips.  
  
“This war won’t be won by the faith of one man,” Spike said simply.  
  
“One man can change the world,” Xander insisted against Spike’s finger.  
  
“Not a galaxy,” Spike argued.  
  
“I have to try.”  
  
“Xander, do you really think you could have achieved a peace agreement or even a cease fire?”  
  
“I could have tried.”  
  
“And would they have let you come back to me?” Spike asked.  
  
“Maybe,” Xander conceded not really knowing the answer. “I liked to think that yes my friends would have let me.”  
  
“And if they didn’t?”  
  
Xander shuddered. The sudden thought of not being able to see Spike panicked him. He’d had a taste of that reality these past few days and he’d hadn’t liked it.  
  
“I’d have found a way back to you,” Xander finally answered.  
  
“At the cost of yer friends?” Spike asked.  
  
Xander froze. _Could I choose Spike over Buffy and_ _Willow_ _?_ Something inside of Xander screamed loudly. It was painful and aching but it was certain. _I’d never stop loving them but I would leave them for Spike if I had too._  
  
“They’re either goin’ ta accept ya as ya are, pet,” Spike said as he brushed soothing fingers through Xander’s thick hair, “or they’re not. That would be true whether ya had my nanites in ya or not.”  
  
“Your…,” Xander started and locked gazes with Spike.  
  
“Wasn’t goin’ ta bleedin’ let anyone else’s inside of ya!” Spike said fiercely before gentling, “Unless mine didn’t take.”  
  
Xander smiled and turned his head to nuzzle Spike’s hand.  
  
“Should have known,” Xander whispered.  
  
Spike smiled and turned Xander’s head to gently face him.  
  
“Whether or not yer were a Biogen, Xander,” Spike said cautiously, “yer being with me…LOVING…me would have made you an enemy ta the Council and to all those but yer truest friends.”  
  
Xander once again froze at Spike’s words. Loving the enemy would have and did make him an enemy. _Buffy?_ _Willow_ _?_ Xander thought. _Are you still my friends?_  
  
“Yer a Biogen, Xander, but yer alive ta still plead yer case with yer friends. Yer alive ta still find away to make a happy ending.”  
  
Xander once again fixed his gaze to Spike’s.  
  
“I’ve never said the words to you,” Xander said.  
  
Spike frowned. _Wot was the git talking about now?_  
  
“Wot?”  
  
“I never said, ‘I love you,’ to you, Spike.”  
  
Spike smiled. “No time like the present.”  
  
Xander leaned forward and kissed Spike. Spike relaxed against Xander and let him take the lead. Xander took his time feasting on Spike’s mouth; chasing the still faint traces of whiskey. Xander nipped, nibbled and teased his way around Spike’s lips until they were swollen and heavy from the tender abuse. Only then did Xander lean back away from Spike and look him in they eye.  
  
“You’re arrogant, bossy, a pain in the ass and you’ve been the enemy for longer than I’ve been alive,” Xander whispered, “but I love you Spike. I, Lieutenant Alexander LaVelle Harris love William the Bloody.”  
  
“That’s Captain William the Bloody,” Spike softly corrected with shimmering eyes. Xander pinched Spike’s arm.  
  
“Oi!” Spike yelled and pouted. Xander laughed.  
  
“Yer a right pain in the arse yerself!” Spike groused before suddenly swinging Xander up in his arms.  
  
“SPIIIKKE!” Xander screeched as his feet left the floor and he felt himself being carried by Spike toward’s the bedroom. “What the hell are you doing?!”  
  
“Taking ya ta bed,” Spike answered.  
  
“I’M NOT A GIRL!” Xander yelled and squirmed.  
  
Spike laughed and held tight. “Oi! Trust me. I know that. Ya got a nice bit of meat and veggies I can’t wait ta sup on, pet.”  
  
“Then cut with the cheap vid romantics,” Xander yelled as he kicked and wiggled, “and put me down!”  
  
“Happy to,” Spike said cheerily as he dropped Xander on the bed before quickly pouncing on him.  
  
Xander squirmed but soon found himself spread eagle under Spike. With his new Biogen strength, Xander knew he could probably dislodge the other man but Xander also knew that’s not what he really wanted.  
  
“Spike,” Xander sputtered before being cut short by an intense and hungry kiss from Spike. Spike kissed Xander like it was the first and last time they’d ever kiss. It was more than hungry; it was searing and breathtaking. Xander felt possessed and treasured. Yet oddly, Xander also felt freer then he’d ever felt.  
  
“Listen to me, pet,” Spike said when he finally broke the kiss. He held Xander firmly but gently under him. Xander looked at Spike.  
  
“I may not say this often,” Spike began. “There might be times you’d swear I’d never said it at all. There will probably be many times ya have no cause to believe me, but know this; I love you. I love you Xander Harris. Yer a cheeky git who believes all ends well. Most times I don’t know whether to throttle ya or shag ya ‘til ya can’t walk straight….”  
  
Little Xander pulsed, hardened and voted for the last option. Xander blushed knowing in the position they were in Spike had to feel his reaction to his words.  
  
Spike smiled and continued, “…and I don’t care wither yer a bloomin’ lieutenant with the Council, my prisoner, or a colonist. I don’t care whether yer human or Biogen. I love ya and I’m never letting ya go.”  
  
Xander’s own vision began to shimmer.  
  
“Now,” Spike growled, “when I sit up you’ve got to the count of ten ta get yer kit off and stretch out on the bed. Angel might have taught ya control, but I’m going ta teach ya a whole new way ta lose it!”  
  
***  
  
With Xander’s enhanced strength and speed it took him to the count of six to get undressed. It didn’t hurt that Xander didn’t take the time to really undue any of his clothes; he just tore them off. Spike growled hungrily at Xander and followed suit.  
  
Before the count of eight, and Xander wasn’t really sure who exactly was counting by that time, they were a tangle of hard limbs, smooth skin and greedy kisses on the bed. Xander was overwhelmed with a need and an arousal he never knew before and he ached for Spike. Xander licked, nibbled and tasted whatever fleshy bits of Spike came in contact with Xander’s mouth.  
  
  
“SPIKE! Ghods! Please!” Xander begged not really sure what he was begging for only knowing he needed Spike’s touch every where.  
  
Spike chuckled around Xander’s pert nipple caught between Spike’s perfect teeth. “Nanites, pet. Not just yer strength and reflexes are enhanced.”  
  
“Guuuhhh!” Xander panted and then screamed when Spike bit on the captured nipple. Xander reached for Spike’s hard length that was pressing into Xander’s hip. Spike batted his hands away, released his fleshy treasure and then sat back on his haunches. Xander tried to follow.  
  
“Lie back, pet,” Spike ordered.  
  
“Fuck! You arrogant…bossy…Spike!” Xander yelled even as he followed orders.  
  
Spike smiled. “Feet flat, legs wide and knees bent.”  
  
“You really are quite bent,” Xander panted as he got into position, “you do know that, right?”  
  
Spike crawled across the bed and opened the drawer of the night stand.  
  
“Don’t touch!” Spike ordered as he searched through the drawer’s contents.  
  
“FUUUCK! Do Biogens have eyes in the back of their heads?” Xander yelled as he snaked his hand back away from his aching and leaking cock.  
  
Spike chuckled in answer as he latched hold of the tube of slick for which he’d been searching.  
  
“Poor baby,” Spike said as he crawled back between Xander’s legs. “Spike, kiss and make it better?”  
  
Before Xander could answer Spike leaned down and engulfed Xander’s purple and swollen head with his mouth.  
  
“SPPPPIIIIIKKKEE!” Xander screeched and arched off the bed. Spike grabbed and firmly squeezed Xander’s balls.  
  
Xander slammed his fists into the bed.  
  
“Oh you bastard!” Xander yelled. Spike winked at him and then slicked up his fingers. Then with a final lick and a nibble Spike released Xander’s cock and sat back up.  
  
“Hands and knees,” Spike ordered.  
  
“Make up yer mind,” Xander grumbled as once again he did as ordered.  
  
“It’s a wonder ya ever made lieutenant,” Spike said as he slapped Xander on the butt, “with yer constant commentin’ on orders.”  
  
“Spike,” Xander whined and rocked his butt back towards Spike. Spike leaned down and bit the offered globe. Xander groaned and panted.  
  
“Now use some of that hard earned control and no cummin’ ‘til I say,” Spike said as he circled Xander’s anus with one slicked finger.  
  
“Thought you wanted me to lose control?” Xander hissed in need as Spike began to slowly ease the slick finger inside Xander’s tight ring.  
  
“When I say so,” Spike answered. He pushed his finger in farther and gently caressed Xander’s hidden nub.  
  
“Oh fuck!” Xander yelled and rocked back against Spike’s finger.  
  
“As yummy as that is, pet,” Spike said before slapping Xander’s butt hard with his free hand. “Stay still ‘till I tell ya other wise.”  
  
“Spike!” Xander whined but held still.  
  
Spike smiled and then slipped another finger inside Xander. Xander groaned and clenched around Spike but otherwise held still. Spike scissored his fingers inside Xander gently stretching and opening him up.  
  
Xander moaned. Spike continued to finger fuck Xander making sure to pay attention to Xander’s little nub.  
  
“Spike, please!” Xander groaned.  
  
“Think of Angel if it helps,” Spike replied.  
  
“Way to kill the mood!” Xander said even as his once again clenched around Spike’s fingers.  
  
Spike laughed and then slid a third finger into Xander.  
  
“Ya feel so good, pet,” Spike said. “Yer all hot and tight and I can’t wait ta get inside of ya.”  
  
“Neither can I!” Xander groaned. “Spike, please, I need you. I need you inside of me. I need….”  
  
Before Xander could finish his statement, Spike quickly withdrew his fingers and then thrust his weeping cock inside of Xander with one smooth motion.  
  
“PET!” Spike yelled as Xander heat closed around him.  
  
Xander groaned and fought to keep from coming. Spike held still giving both Xander and himself time to calm. When Xander’s breathing was a little calmer Spike began a gentle rocking motion that teased Xander’s prostate.  
  
“I missed you,” Xander whispered.  
  
“I love you,” Spike replied as he pulled Xander close. “Follow me my lead, pet.”  
  
“Always,” Xander promised.  
  
Spike smiled and began to sit back on his knees even as he pulled Xander with him. Xander followed Spike’s lead and before he realized what was happening he found himself in Spike’s lap with Spike fully impaled inside of him.  
  
“Spike,” Xander whispered in need and awe.  
  
“Sit up, pet,” Spike gently ordered.  
  
Xander did and gasped as he felt Spike’s cock push deeper into Xander.  
  
“Gonna give ya a ridin lesson,” Spike whispered against Xander’s shoulder before thrusting up into Xander’s tight heat.  
  
“Spike!” Xander shouted as he was lifted and impaled deeper. Xander gasped.  
  
“Move with me, pet” Spike ordered. Xander tried to focus and to adapt to this new position and rhythm. Spike was patient and Xander was quick to learn. Several moans and hoarse shouts later Xander found himself meeting Spike’s thrusts and settling into the “riding” motion.  
  
“Fuck! Oh fuck! Spike!” Xander shouted.  
  
“That’s right,” Spike panted as he nibbled Xander’s earlobe. “Fuck Spike!”  
  
Xander clenched and then reached his hands to grasp his aching and abandoned cock. He ached so badly. Spike swiftly batted Xander’s hands away.  
  
“Mine!” Spike hissed. Xander groaned and twined his hands up and back to hold on to the back of Spike’s neck. Spike leaned forward and bit gently at Xander’s neck. Xander tilted his head to the side and offered Spike more access.  
  
“My good sweet, Xander” Spike purred and then snaked his still slicked hand down across Xander’s belly to wrap around Xander’s hard cock.  
  
“Spike,” Xander practically wept.  
  
“Wot, luv?” Spike asked as he stroked Xander’s cock in time to his thrusting up into Xander.  
  
“Spike!” Xander cried again.  
  
“Tell me, Xander,” Spike said as he thrust, stroked and kissed. “Tell me what I need to hear. Tell me what…”  
  
“I LOVE YOU, SPIKE!” Xander cried desperately trying to hold on against his impending orgasm and just as desperately needing to tell Spike what he felt.  
  
“I love you too, Xander,” Spike groaned as he gave into his Biogen nature and bit hard on Xander’s neck.  
  
Xander screamed and teetered on the edge.  
  
“Let’s cum together!” Spike growled against Xander’s broken skin and began to thrust as hard and as deeply as he could into Xander’s welcoming heat. Xander felt his own hold on his human side release and found himself wildly bucking and thrusting back against Spike.  
  
Spike pumped Xander’s cock in time to their wild mating and with a unified scream of passion both men came. Spike fountained deep inside Xander even as Xander’s ardor streamed up and over Spike’s hand.  
  
Time was suspended and each man was caught in the throes of an orgasm so intense the line between pain and pleasure disappeared leaving only raw sensation. Flesh moved and snaked through sweat and semen until both men collapsed on the bed.  
  
Xander and Spike lay entangled together dazed and panting. Their Biogen features slowly receded as their pulse rate slowed. Instinctively Spike began pressing little kisses down Xander’s neck and across his shoulders while he petted and stroked Xander’s chest.  
  
Slowly Xander felt himself reconnecting to his body as he focused on Spike’s gentle touches and kisses. Xander moved his hand up to cover the one petting his chest.  
  
“Spike,” Xander whispered almost as if praying.  
  
“Yes, luv,” Spike answered just as reverently.  
  
“Thank you.”  
  
Spike smiled. “Yer welcome, pet.”  
  
“No,” Xander said afraid Spike misunderstood.  
  
“I’m mean _thank you_.”  
  
“Pet?” Spike asked in confusion.  
  
Xander turned slowly in Spike’s arms until he lay cradled in them staring up at his lover.  
  
“I’m happy to be alive, Spike,” Xander said. “Thank you for keeping me that way.”  
  
Once again Spike’s vision shimmered with unshed tears. He choked back a sob and gently kissed Xander on his sweaty brow before once again whispering, “Yer welcome, pet. Yer so very very welcome.”  
  
 **TBC**


	32. (32/43 plus Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lt. “Xander” Harris and Captain William the Bloody have both suffered and lost in the on going war between the Biogens and Council. Now, Xander finds himself a prisoner of Captain William the Bloody (aka Spike). What will be Xander’s fate?
> 
> Happy New Year!!!!! Mean't to post this a little earlier..but oh well! Enjoy!!!!

_Xander turned slowly in Spike’s arms until he lay cradled in them staring up at his lover.  
  
“I’m happy to be alive, Spike,” Xander said. “Thank you for keeping me that way.”  
  
Once again Spike’s vision shimmered with unshed tears. He choked back a sob and gently kissed Xander on his sweaty brow before once again whispering, “Yer welcome, pet. Yer so very very welcome.”_  
  
Angel got to his feet and took a moment to access the damage to his office. The vid player was ruined. _No doubt so is the vid,_ Angel thought, _and with it any chance to figure out who the mysterious witness was._  


**************************************************************************************************************

“Fred,” Angel barked into his communicator.   
  
“Angel,” Fred answered.  
  
“Are you in your lab?” Angel asked.  
  
“On my way.”  
  
“Good. When you get there I want everything involved with Xander’s conversion gathered up and brought to my office.”  
  
“Angel?” Fred asked.  
  
“Everything, Fred,” Angel repeated. “I want every document, ever vid disc, and even every scrap of paper you doodled on about this process brought to me ASAP.”  
  
“But Angel,” Fred began.  
  
“I want Knox’s info too,” Angel continued. “I mean it Fred. I want _everything.”_  
  
“Trouble?” Wes asked as he stepped into the doorway of Angel’s office  
  
“Wes!” Angel said looking away from the shattered vid viewer. “Don’t you knock?”  
  
“Right,” Wes said before knocking on the open door. “Trouble?”  
  
“I should have what you want in a couple of rotations,” Fred’s voice interrupted before Angel could growl at Wes.  
  
“Good,” answered Angel, “and Fred. Not a word about this.”

“But Angel,” Fred replied, “What am I supposed to say to Knox?”  
  
“What ever you need to get the info, but just don’t tell him I’m putting the lock down on it.”  
  
“You don’t think…,”   
  
“I don’t know what to think, Fred. I just have a real bad feeling.”  
  
“Right. I’ll see you in a couple of hours. Fred out.”  
  
“Must be a pretty bad feeling,” Wes said. “Is that what took out the viewer?”  
  
“No, that was Spike,” Angel answered focusing his attention back to Wesley.  
  
“Spike?”  
  
“Walked in on Xander and me watching the vid from ‘The Thorn.”  
  
“I see,” said Wes as he entered the office and then closed the door behind him.  
  
“Was a final test of Xander’s control,” Angel tried to explain.  
  
“And instead you found out once again how limited Spike’s is,” Wes replied as he took a seat, “Especially where Mr. Harris is concerned.”  
  
Angel sighed and then nodded as he sat back down behind his desk.   
  
“So why the ship’s alarm on Fred and Knox’s research?”  
  
“There was someone else there when Xander was tortured,” Angel answered. “Someone unaccounted for.”  
  
“Who?”  
  
Angel shook his head. “Don’t know. Was just a silhouette in the shadows.”   
  
“Can you enhance the image?” Wes said leaning forward.  
  
“I’m guessing the vid is in worse condition then the viewer,” Angel said. “When Fred get’s up here I’ll see if she can recover the vid.”  
  
“Will you tell her…?”  
  
“Not unless there’s a chance she can recover it.”  
  
Wes nodded and then asked. “So the lock down on the Xander info…?”  
  
“Someone besides us knows how bad Xander was hurt. That same someone is going to appreciate what a miraculous recovery he’s had.”  
  
“And it will not take them long to suspect why?” Wes concluded as he once again sat back.  
  
Angel nodded.   
  
“Any suspicions as to whom?” Wes asked.   
  
“An associate of Caleb’s? A Council agent?” Angel shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine.”  
  
“If it was a Council agent…,” Wes let the possibility hang dreading the idea while at the same time realizing there was little they could do at the moment besides changing topics. “How is Xander?”  
  
Angel sighed again and met Wesley’s gaze. “Hanging by a thread while watching the vid but seemed on the way to recovery when Spike busted in and busted me.”  
  
“If I had known what you were up to I would have given you some war….”  
  
Angel waved away Wes’s response. “It probably wouldn’t have stopped me.”  
  
“Angel?”  
  
“I had to know Wes. I not only had to know if Xander could handle it but I had to know what was on that vid. I’m not sure I could have followed through with watching it if I put it off any longer.”  
  
Wes nodded. “I underst….”  
  
“No!” Angel growled and slammed his fists down on his desk. “No you don’t! You don’t understand how it twists me inside. You don’t know what’s it’s like to hate watching Xander getting brutalized while at the same time part of you is enjoying it! You don’t know what’s like to justify satisfying your prurient curiosity and try to maintain the illusion that you are just doing it for intel reasons. You don’t know what it’s like to watch Harris bleed and scream nothing and holding it together when you are hoping and anticipating him breaking and not just because you want to see what Council information he might give away! You don’t know wha…!”  
  
“You’re right,” Wes said softly. “I don’t know.”  
  
Angel closed his eyes and took a deep breath. _It was sweet wasn’t it?_ Angelus whispered in the back of Angel’s consciousness.  
  
“Angel?” Wes asked again.  
  
“I’m ok, Wes,” Angel answered and then opened his eyes. “How’d the mission go?”  
  
It was Wes’s turn to sigh.   
  
“That bad?” Angel asked.  
  
“There is a reason Spike did not risk radioing in a report,” Wesley said.  
  
“And?” Angel prompted.  
  
“The colony is gone, Angel.”   
  
“What?”  
  
“They are all dead.”  
  
“Who?!”   
  
“Your guess is as good as mine,” Wes said pointedly using Angel’s own words.  
  
“That doesn’t make any sense!” Angel barked.  
  
“It looked to Faith and I like a rogue Biogen attack…,”  
  
“What?” Angel interrupted.  
  
Wes held his hand up and continued,”…but Spike disagreed. Said it was ‘too clean.’”  
  
Angel wiped his hand over his mouth. _Spike would know,_ both sides of Angel thought. “Were there any survivors?”  
  
Wes shook his head. “None that we could find.”  
  
“How long did you search?”  
  
“Spike gave us ten clicks.”  
  
“Ten? Why just a few min…?”  
  
“Spike had a ‘bad feeling,’” Wes explained. “Spike ordered us to vid record our search.”  
  
“Where are the recordings?”  
  
“Faith is bringing them. Spike wanted both of us to give a report. I decided to drop by early….”  
  
“Where is she?” Angel asked cutting off Wes’s explanation.  
  
“Finishing up securing the _DeSoto_ ,” Wes answered. “Spike left rather hurriedly.”  
  
“Faith,” Angel said into his communicator.  
  
“Be there in a rotation,” Faith replied.  
  
“Make it less,” Angel ordered.  
  
“Were ‘bossy’ and ‘impatient’ part of the nanite programming or the genetic doctoring?”   
  
Wes suppressed a smile while Angel frowned.  
  
“Were Regents bred to be smart mouths or is that just unique to you?”  
  
“It’s all me baby. All me,” Faith’s grin could almost be heard. “Faith out.”  
  
Angel focused his frown on Wes.  
  
“Technically I ceased to be her Watcher the moment we deserted the Council,” Wes defended himself before Angel could say a word.  
  
“So,” Angel said trying to regain a sense of command, which always seemed to be elusive when any of the crew of _The DeSoto_ was around. “Did Spike have any guesses about who attacked Wash?”  
  
All traces of mirth left Wes’s face and he fixed a piercing gaze at Angel before answering, “The Council.”  
  
***  
  
“NO!” Xander’s shout echoed around Angel’s office four rotations later. “There’s _no way_ the Council did this! No way Buffy would have allowed it!”  
  
Xander flipped his gaze back and forth between the frozen images on the new vid screen propped up in the corner of Angel’s office and Spike. The crew of _The DeSoto_ had gathered in Angel’s office a rotation ago to give their report to Angel about the Wash colony. Spike had wanted to leave Xander out of it but Xander had been determined not to be left behind by Spike again for any reason. He’d finally argued as _The DeSoto’s_ CM and a Biogen he had a right to be there. Spike had relented and now he wished he’d held firm.  
  
“Pet…”  
  
“Don’t ‘Pet’ me!” Xander shouted again. “You’re trying to tell me Council forces slaughtered an entire colony and what? Tried to make it look like Biogens did it?”  
  
“Xander…,” Wes tried.  
  
“You _know_ better, Wes,” Xander focused his angry gaze on Wes.   
  
“Xander,” Wes tried again, “The Council is capable of….”  
  
“Yes,” Xander snapped. “I’ve heard the stories from Angel, from you and from Spike. I can believe the Council has done some really not-of-the-good to the down right wrong-and-so-deserve-to-be-caught-in-a-thruster-burn …but this?”  
  
“I wouldn’t put it past them,” Gunn grunted.   
  
“Yeah and if you got a hangnail you’d say it was a Council conspiracy too, baldy.”  
  
“Xander,” growled Angel.  
  
“What?” Xander spun his gaze back to the leader of the Biogens. “C’mon Angel, despite the protruding forehead, I think you are a little smarter than early man. What reason would the Council have for doing this?”  
  
“To keep the war going,” Angel replied.  
  
“Oh cuz it really looked like peace was about to drop by for tea and cookies!”  
  
“Revenge?” Faith asked.  
  
“For what?” Xander replied.  
  
“For taking you?”  
  
“You think Buffy would really do something like this?”  
  
“I don’t know what B could do if sufficiently pissed off. And Red? Well you always have to watch for the quiet ones,” Faith said.  
  
“You don’t know Buffy,” Xander said coldly. “And you sure as hell don’t know Willow!”  
  
“I know, B, better then you think,” Faith replied. “Regents are more a like then you think.”  
  
“So what, Faith,” Xander asked. “You saying you’re capable of mass murder? You up for a little baby killing?”  
  
Faith jumped to her feet and clenched her fist then hissed, “I am what the Council made me, Xander.”  
  
“Well so am I!” retorted Xander.  
  
“Not the same thing. Not the same thing by far,” answered Faith.   
  
“Xan,” Spike tried again to calm Xander. This time he stood up and moved close to the angry man. “We’re just tossing out ideas here…”  
  
“Well you can toss this one right out the air lock,” Xander yelled as he faced his love and lover. “There’s no way Buffy or Willow would have been _any_ part of this and there’s no way the Council could have pulled this off _without_ them knowing about it.”  
  
Spike inched closer and then laid a warm hand on Xander’s shoulder. “Then who did, luv?”  
  
“I don’t know, Spike,” Xander answered more softly, “but if you ask me to believe that it wasn’t rogue Biogens then you have to be willing to believe me when I say it wasn’t the Council.”  
  
Spike held Xander’s gaze. It was odd to him that even in the midst of a yelling match discussing the next move in an ugly war he could still marvel at the rich chocolate color of his Pet’s eyes and how much he bloody loved to look into _both_ of them.   
  
“Fair ‘nough,” Spike finally said. Xander held his breath for a moment searching Spike’s blue eyes to make sure his words matched his thoughts. When Xander was satisfied Spike meant what he said, he exhaled and smiled.   
  
“That’s still leaves us with a dead colony and no answers,” Angel said interrupting the moment between Spike and Xander. _Ooo jealous?_ Angelus whispered.   
  
Xander and Spike turned as one to look at Angel.   
  
“Why’d you send Spike to Wash?” Xander asked.  
  
“What?” Angel replied.  
  
“Well what made you think Wash needed a fly by?”  
  
“I had some intel the Council was interested in Wash.”  
  
What intel? From whom?”  
  
“Xander,” Angel replied as he shifted in his seat, “I have my sources…”  
  
“What sources?” Xander asked while Spike frowned.  
  
“Confidential,” Angel replied coolly.  
  
 _Why’s Peaches being so dodgy?_ Spike thought. _What am I missing?_  
  
“And what did they say?”  
  
“They gave me reason to believe that the Council was interested in Wash.”  
  
“And could it have been a setup?” Faith asked.  
  
“What?”  
  
“A setup?” Faith asked again. “Could they have been trying to get you to go to Wash just to…”  
  
“The Council didn’t do this,” Xander interrupted Faith.  
  
“Well then why did your source think they needed to go to…”  
  
“Shipping licenses,” Spike blurted out as the connection dawned on him.  
  
“Shipping licenses?” Xander asked now suddenly feeling like he was missing something right in front of him.  
  
“Yeah, the bird said the Council…,” Spike began to explain.  
  
“CORDELIA!” Xander suddenly shouted as he caught up with Spike and then once again looked at Angel. “CORDELIA CHASE IS YOUR SOURCE?”  
  
“You mean the talking head?” Gunn piped in. “The one with the really nice ti…talking points?”  
  
“Talking points, Charles?” Fred spoke for the first time.  
  
“They're very…nice,” Gunn cleared his throat.  
  
“Right,” Fred said.   
  
“Can we get back to how Cordelia Chase is Angel’s source?” Wes asked.  
  
“Oh please, let’s just repeat it a few more times,” Angel growled. “I’m sure everybody out on the street hasn’t heard the word.”  
  
“At least give the skinny on what you are talking about,” Faith said.  
  
“When Spike and I first arrived in Angel’s office he was listening to ‘The Chase with Cordelia Chase,’” Xander explained “and she was reporting that the Council might restrict Wash’s shipping licenses.”  
  
“Oh that stuff will rot your brain,” Faith said. “I mean the whole ‘Straight Truth: No Chaser’ slogan when she does nothing but spout Council propaganda…”  
  
“And that’s wot makes her such a great undercover source right out in the bleedin’ open,” Spike said with sly look to Angel. “I mean ya said it yerself Angel ‘Cordelia’s very informative, if you know what to listen for.’”  
  
“And she’s usually right,” Angel said. “And this information doesn’t go anywhere? Cordelia’s a valuable resource…,”  
  
“And very brave,” Xander interrupted. “If the Council found out what she was doing….”  
  
“Treason carries the death penalty,” Angel finished.   
  
“Then the Council was behind this,” Wes said.  
  
“No!” Xander yelled again. “Cordelia only said the Council was interested in restricting shipping licenses because the Wash colony was being slow in signing the new Council articles.”

“Wipin’ ‘em out sends a pretty clear message,” Gunn said.   
  
“And that’s why they tried to make it look like Biogens did it?” Xander asked. “Great reasoning there from the folliclely challenged crowd!”  
  
“You know, Council boy,” Gunn growled. “Nanites or not I can still school you on a world of pain.”  
  
“Think so, teach?” Xander said letting his eyes shift gold.  
  
“Just r…,”   
  
“Stand down!”  Angel ordered.  
  
“Well it seems clear to me what we need to do next,” Fred said.  
  
Angel and the rest of the _DeSoto’s_ crew turned their attention to the soft spoken scientist.  
  
“Well,” Fred began, “when ever I’m stuck on a problem in the lab, or on the ship, and I’ve reviewed all the information…double checking of course to make sure I haven’t missed anything or made an error in my calculations, which can happen because sometimes I switch my numbers around using seventy-one when I meant seventeen…”  
  
“Fred,” Angel said impatiently.  
  
“Oh. Well what I mean is I have to go back to the beginning. Look at the problem fresh again.”  
  
“And that means what? Watch the vids again?” Angel asked with a sinking horror. His Angelus nature had found a ghoulish glee in watching the horrifying images the first time.  
  
“No,” Fred said. “We need to go back to Wash.”  
  
“Fred?’ Spike said.  
  
“We only spent ten clicks there and did only a basic search. We were focused on finding survivors. We might have missed something.”  
  
“She’s right,” Wes said.  
  
Angel looked at Wes. Wes returned the gaze. Angel sighed. He looked back at Fred.   
  
Angel then looked to Spike and said. “How soon can you be ready to head out?”  
  
“Give or take a couple of rotations,” Spike replied.  
  
“You’ve got one,” Angel said. “I want you to go back out there. See what you can find, but don’t take any chances. It’ll be only a matter of time before the Council finds out about this.”  
  
“Going back is a chance,” Spike said.  
  
“I know, but Fred’s right. We need more information.”  
  
“Good,” Xander said. “We’ll find it.”  
  
“We, Pet?” Spike asked as he focused again on Xander.  
  
“You’re not leaving without me.”  
  
“Pe….”  
  
“I’m the _DeSoto’s_ CM,” Xander said tilting his chin and sending a clear challenge to Spike.  
  
“I can relieve you of your duty,” Spike answered.  
  
“You won’t,” Xander smiled, “and besides. I know Council military tactics. My insights could be quite useful.”  
  
“He’s right,” Wes said.  
  
“It’ll be dangerous,” Spike feebly argued torn by his need to protect Xander and his need to keep him close.  
  
“Trust me,” Xander said as he stepped deep into Spike’s personal space and placed his hands on Spike’s shoulders, “leaving me behind would be more dangerous.”

  
**TBC**


	33. (33/43 plus Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lt. “Xander” Harris and Captain William the Bloody have both suffered and lost in the on going war between the Biogens and Council. Now, Xander finds himself a prisoner of Captain William the Bloody (aka Spike). What will be Xander’s fate?

_“It’ll be dangerous,” Spike feebly argued torn by his need to protect Xander and his need to keep him close.  
  
“Trust me,” Xander said as he stepped deep into Spike’s personal space and placed his hands on Spike’s shoulders, “leaving me behind would be more dangerous.”_  
****************************************************************************************************************

 

It had been two days since _The DeSoto_ had left Hyperion for its second reconnaissance mission to the Wash colony. Mostly, it had been a good two days despite the tension surrounding the mission. Spike had his pet, Xander, back with him. By day, Xander was once again running the ship’s galley and taking care of his captain. By night, Xander was taking care of his captain by being just where Spike needed him; in Spike’s bed warm and alive.  
  
The crew functioned as if they’d always been together. Spike sighed and ran his hands through Xander’s hair. Xander sighed in response and settled deeper on the couch where he lay with his head in Spike’s lap. _It’s as if we were waitin’ for the git all along,_ Spike thought as mused about how much Xander fit aboard the _DeSoto._  
  
 _Even the constant snipin’ between Xan and Charlie Boy is as familiar as the odd hum of the cargo bay lights,_ Spike thought. Still, there were times Xander wasn’t the mouthy git Spike had come to love and adore. A quiet Xander, Spike had learned, was a troubled Xander.  
  
 Spike looked down at his pet. Even as Spike basked in the glow of contentment he felt just sitting there with Xander’s head in his lap, he worried. The peace was nice, but it was too quiet. Spike reached for the drink Xander balanced on his stomach between his two hands.   
  
“You make a sexy coaster, pet,” Spike murmured as he took the glass from Xander’s hands and took a long drink from the glass.  
  
“And you’re a thief,” Xander said.  
  
“Unrepentant,” Spike smiled as he answered.  
  
“Well if you think I’m going to get up and get you a refill…” Xander started.  
  
“Oi! It’s your job!” Spike interrupted. “You’re the Captain’s Mate.”  
  
“I’m on break.”  
  
Spike laughed. “And where’s it say ya get a break, ya lazy git?”  
  
“Right above the spot where you can kiss my ‘arse’ if you don’t believe me,” Xander replied while suppressing a smile.  
  
“Oh pet, I’ve kissed that pretty arse plenty of times and plenty of places and I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything written there,” Spike said and paused before continuing, “though I could change that.”  
  
It was Xander’s turned to laugh. “Yeah? And what would you put there?”  
  
“Property of Captain William the Bloody.”  
  
“That’s a lot of words.”  
  
“It’ll fit.”  
  
“So what?” Xander laughed again. “Are you telling me my ass is big?”  
  
“Well I wasn’t gonna say…”  
  
Before Spike could finish he suddenly found himself with a lap full of a squirming Xander trying to exploit Spike’s most secret and vulnerable weakness.  
  
“XANDER!” Spike squeaked as Xander’s talented fingers danced on the spots right above each of Spike’s hips which Xander had only recently discovered were ticklish.  
  
“What?” Xander asked sweetly while trying to stay perched in Spike’s thrashing lap while still keeping his fingers dancing.  
  
“XANDER YOU STOP THIS…” Spike roared and laughed at the same time.  
  
“Oooo, I’m sooooo scared now.”  
  
“PET!” Spike made another attempt to intimidate Xander only to once again fall prey to his pet’s devilish fingers.  
  
“You say something, Spike, sweetie?”  
  
“Sweetie!” Spike bellowed and then dropped the glass before trying to grab hold of his boy’s wrists.  
  
“Butthercup?” Xander offered a different endearment while trying to dodge Spike’s hands and still keep up the tickle assault.  
  
“I’m warnin’ ya, whelp!”   
  
“That’d be much more convincing if you weren’t laughing.”  
  
“I’ll be convincin’ enough when I warm that backside of yours!”  
  
“Mmm,” Xander purred, “that’s my shapely and _small_ backside.”  
  
“Oi!” Spike growled as he finally got a hold on Xander’s wrists and then with a practiced move flipped him and his boy until Xander was pinned and squirming underneath him on the couch.   
  
“No, that would be the cheeky _backside_ that’s got ya into a world of trouble!” Spike growled before he swooped down and claimed Xander’s mouth.   
  
Xander immediately stopped squirming and let Spike seek his sweet revenge by plundering Xander’s hot mouth. While Spike re-mapped the familiar territory and taste of Xander’s lips, Xander wrapped his legs around Spike’s hips and urged him closer to the source of Xander’s heat. Xander groaned and rocked his hips up into Spike. Spike groaned and pressed his hips down in response.  
  
“Cor, pet!” Spike uttered when he finally broke the devouring kiss for much needed air.  
  
“Spike!” Xander moaned. Spike chuckled at the sound of his pet’s need.   
  
“And here I thought ya were being too broody ‘bout this mission to wanna play,” Spike said as began to pebble little kisses down Xander’s neck. Suddenly all the delicious tension went out of Xander and a new tension crept in to take its place.   
  
“Pet?” Spike asked as he lifted his head to look at Xander’s face.  
  
“Sorry, Spike,” Xander said as he met Spike’s gaze and then turned away.   
  
“Xander?” Spike called softly as he sat back up. “What’s wrong?”  
  
Xander shook his head and pulled himself back into a seated position on the couch. He looked back at Spike and sighed.   
  
“It just all kinda came back…,” Xander sighed.  
  
“Me and my bloody mouth,” Spike muttered.  
  
Xander gave the older Biogen a small smile. “You should be used to it getting you in trouble by now.”  
  
“Pet,” Spike affectionately warned Xander.  
  
Xander smiled wide and then ran his hand through his hair.  
  
“Ok, spill. What’s got the gerbils wearin’ out the wheel in yer head?” Spike prompted.  
  
“What if I’m wrong?” Xander asked.   
  
“Wot?”  
  
“What if I’m wrong, Spike?” Xander asked as he stood up and began pacing around the cabin. “It’s not like I haven’t been wrong before! What if…what if we get to Wash and we find the Council is behind this?”  
  
 _Oh, pet,_ Spike thought.   
  
“I mean I can’t believe Buffy or Willow would be a part of this. I can’t believe Giles would be a part of this but then I can’t believe the G-man has known the truth about the Council and the Biogens and never came clean before! What if I’m wrong? What if we get there and something happens or what if…”  
  
“Xander,” Spike said softly interrupting his CM’s rant. “We’ll deal with it.”  
  
“Will we? Spike we’re out here because I asked you to believe in me. Believe that what I believe is true and we all know how good my judgment has been lately. I mean just ask Jesse…,”  
  
“Pet! That’s enough,” Spike growled and stood up. “You are not ta blame for Jesse’s death nor for whatever we find at Wash.”  
  
Xander paused his pacing and looked at Spike. “What if I’m wrong and…how would you trust me again?”  
  
“Oh fer…!” Spike started to say and then stopped. _Boy’s too hurt and scarred to understand,_ Spike thought.   
  
“Xander,” Spike tried again. “You think if ya made a mistake I’d just wot, call it quits?”  
  
“No,” Xander said. “I just…”  
  
“Is that wot you would do? I mean seems ta me I made a big mistake about not bein’ honest with you about wot happened after Caleb and yer still here.”  
  
“I know. But it’s different…”  
  
“How? You so much better’n me then?”  
  
“No!” Xander cried emphatically and rushed to Spike. “It’s not that at all!”  
  
“Then what?”  
  
“People get hurt when I make mistakes!”  
  
“Pet, people usually always get hurt when anyone makes a mistake.”  
  
“People don’t make Xan-man mistakes! You know, like swallowing hook, line and sinker a bunch of lies and never once think to question them or lettin’ a psycho sweet talk him into his best friend’s death. Or I don’t know following a complete stranger to end up in said psycho’s lair.”  
  
Spike sighed and reached out a hand to brush Xander’s cheek.   
  
“So, yer mistakes are so much worse then everybody else’s?”  
  
“Yes,” Xander whispered.  
  
“Why? Because yer better’n others?”  
  
“No…”  
  
“Because yer less than others?”  
  
Xander jerked back from Spike but didn’t say anything.   
  
_Pet, what did them Council prats do to you? How could yer friends let ya get feelin’ this low about yerself?_ Spike wondered.  
  
“Xander, I trust you. I trust you now and I’ll trust you even if yer wrong about yer friends.”  
  
“Why?” Xander asked and met Spike’s blue eyes.  
  
“Cuz yer you, pet.”  
  
“And that means what, Spike?”  
  
Spike sighed again. “Ya like tellin’ me how ‘slow’ ya are so I’m gonna put this in simple terms, Xander.”  
  
Spike took a step back from Xander putting a little more distance between them. “Now, strip.”  
  
“What!?” Xander yelled. “Spike this isn’t…”  
  
“I said strip, pet!”   
  
Xander narrowed his eyes and stared at Spike. _What game is this?_ Xander thought.   
  
“I’m not really in the mood, Spike.”  
  
“Did I ask ya if yer were?”  
  
“No, but…”  
  
“If ya really want to know why I trust ya, Xan, then strip.” Spike said.  
  
 _What are you up to?_ Xander thought; still not moving.   
  
“I’ll count to three, pet. If by two you aren’t moving I’ll take that as ta mean we’re done talkin’ about this.”   
  
“Spike!”  
  
“One!” Spike counted.  
  
 _Oh for…_ Xander didn’t finish his thought he just began to undress. Spike stood impassively and watched. Xander couldn’t help but flush. He hadn’t felt this exposed since that first time Spike had made him strip when he’d first been brought about the _DeSoto_ as a prisoner.  
  
 _Full circle,_ Xander thought as he found himself cupping his hands in front of his groin. As before, Xander stared defiantly back at Spike.   
  
_He just keeps getting’ nummier,_ Spike let himself think before pressing on with his plan. _Though I best do a bit to ease him up a little,_ Spike thought as he observed Xander’s shy behavior.   
  
Spike quickly shed his own clothes. _That puts a us a bit more on an even keel,_ Spike thought and then began to move toward Xander.  
  
“You wanna know what I meant, eh, Xander?” Spike whispered as he moved seductively towards his lover.  
  
“Spike…,” Xander began to answer.  
  
“Yes? Or no, pet?” Spike asked interrupting his boy.  
  
“Yes.”  
  
“Then listen, pet,” Spike whispered in Xander’s ear as he slid in behind him. “Just listen to me.”  
  
Xander gave an exaggerated sigh but didn’t say anything. Spike smiled.  
  
“I’ll trust you, pet, no matter what,” Spike continued to whisper close to Xander’s ear, “because yer you. You’re Xander. You’re a cheeky do-gooder wot hasn’t got the sense to get out of the way of a bad situation.”  
  
“Spi…,” Xander began again.  
  
“Ah! Listen!” Spike hissed softly.  
  
Xander closed his mouth with a frustrated and audible “snap.”  
  
“You’re the bloody white knight who risked his life to save a ship full of ungrateful Council prats who don’t have two brain cells between the lot of ‘em to recognize how valuable you are.”   
  
Xander shifted his weight uncomfortably.  
  
“No, stay still and listen. I know you don’t want ta hear these things,” Spike whispered his way around Xander’s neck to his other ear. “Cuz then ya just might have to believe them. Ya might even think they aren’t true, but they are.”  
  
Spike began to ghost his hands over Xander’s shoulder bringing them close enough so that Xander could feel the heat; but never touching.  
  
“Yer the mouthy git who went toe to toe with William the Bloody and didn’t flinch even when he found his self chained to the end of Bloody’s bed.”   
  
A flush raced across Xander’s skin as Spike began to ghost his hands down over Xander’s arms.  
  
“Yer the meddlesome twat who used Bloody’s own dosh to try and fund his escape!”  
  
Spike could start to feel an answering heat radiating at from Xander’s skin. It rose up to meet the heat of Spike’s palms now ghosting over Xander’s back.   
  
Xander’s breath began to race along with his pulse. He focused on Spike’s sweet, seductive voice rather then the voices of doubt that tried to refute Spike’s words.  
  
“Yer the bloody stubborn pillock who was so obstinate he’d rather be maimed and suffer a slow death than betray his friends or enemies.”  
  
Xander gasped but didn’t say anything. Spike ghosted his hands back over Xander’s shoulder and touched his forehead to the back of Xander’s head in a soothing gesture.  
  
“But those aren’t the reasons why I’d trust ya, pet,” Spike breathed. Spike lifted his forehead away from Xander and then pressed his body close to Xander; finally making blessed contact. Xander leaned back.  
  
“You don’t think I know, Xan,” Spike whispered down Xander’s neck. “You don’t think I know how you choose to play the pet for me, but I do.”  
  
“Spi..!”  
  
“Shhhh,” Spike said softly. “Listen.”  
  
Xander nodded and pressed closer to Spike.  
  
“I know. I know you’ll always lay down and spread prettily for me. You’ll always let me take the lead. I know ya saw the demons in me. I know ya saw those fears,” Spike whispered in the softest of voices. Spike’s voice was so soft Xander wondered if he’d even be able to hear Spike if he wasn’t now a Biogen.  
  
“Ya did, pet,” Spike continued. “Ya did see those fears and ya decided they had no place between us, so you decided to play the pet. I know. I also know if I ever crossed a line; you’d show me you still are that bloody…stubborn…cheeky…mouthy…do-gooder of a white knight.”  
  
Spike punctuated each adjective with a soft kiss down the back of Xander’s neck. Xander bit his bottom lip to keep from moaning.   
  
“I know, pet and so I know ta never cross that line. I won’t not because of Angel and his daft rules, or even a sense of bloody morality. I won’t cross that line because I’ll always want ya to be my sweet pet. I need ya, Xander.”  
  
Spike wrapped his arms around Xander and ran his hands down Xander’s chest. Xander’s breath hitched and his body hardened in all the right places.  
  
“But even that’s not why I trust, ya,” Spike said and then gently turned Xander around to face him. Blue eyes met brown eyes and warm breath mingled as the two men faced each other.   
  
“I love ya, pet and love is give and take. Sometimes that means mistakes happen and wounds are taken from it; but that also means healing happens and forgiveness is given.”  
  
“Spike,” Xander quietly mouthed.  
  
Spike softly kissed the lips that mouthed his name and then looked back at Xander.   
  
“I trust ya because yer you, Xander and yer more than even wot I described.”  
  
“What, Spike?” Xander asked softly. “What else am I?”  
  
Spike smiled and pointed toward the floor, “Lie down for me, pet. Lie down on yer back just like I like.”  
  
Xander quickly lay down with his feet flat and knees bent.  He watched Spike as he knelt down on the floor. Spike knelt by Xander’s head with his knees on either side of Xander. Xander’s head was once again almost in Spike’s lap.  
  
“I’m gonna show ya, pet,” Spike said as he stared down at Xander. “I’m gonna show ya what ya are and all you gotta do is wot I do.”  
  
Then Spike leaned down and gave Xander a short but searing kiss before stretching out above Xander and with his mouth hovering over Xander’s hard cock.  
  
“Do wot I do,” Spike whispered before he dove down and engulfed Xander. Xander arched up into the warm heat and gasped. He lay there for a moment while heat and passion swept through him even as Spike’s tongue swept around his hard member.  
  
Xander almost lost himself in the sensation before he remembered what Spike had said. Xander quickly grabbed hold of Spike’s hips and pulled him down a bit even as Xander lifted his head to begin sucking on Spike’s own hard and leaking cock.  
  
Spike moaned around Xander and a surge of desire and sensation rushed through Xander. He was caught up in the dual wonder of teasing and devouring Spike even as Spike was teasing and devouring Xander. Xander moaned his own need around Spike and a circuit was complete.  
  
Both men were locked in a frenzy of mirroring each others need and satisfaction. Spike nibbled and teased. Xander thrust up for more even as he nibbled and teased Spike who answered with a down thrust. Xander licked and swallowed Spike as Spike swallowed and swirled his tongue.  
  
Xander no longer knew if he was chasing Spike to Spike’s orgasm or racing towards his own. All he knew was locked in a rhythm with Spike. Pleasure was simultaneously given and pleasure was simultaneously taken. It was heady, raw and powerful. It was taste, touch, smell, and sound. Sight was the blinded light of passion peaking behind eyelids.  
  
Spike moaned again around Xander and fire raced up from Xander’s groin and he found himself falling up completely into Spike as he his seed spurted down Spike’s throat. Xander gasped and then sucked hard on Spike wanting his completion; needing it. Spike thrust and gasped. Xander registered the musky taste of his lover and it the circle was complete.  
  
Moments or minutes passed as aftershocks of desire raced through the men. Cocks softened and were given sweet little kisses as the men struggled to find their breath. Slowly Spike eased himself to Xander’s side. Slowly Xander turned himself around so he could drape himself over his lover.   
  
Spike smiled and ran his fingers gently through Xander’s sweat soaked hair. Xander smiled and kissed Spike’s chest.   
  
“Do ya understand now, pet?” Spike whispered. “I trust ya because yer you. Yer more than all the things I love about ya Xander. Yer my lover. Yer part of me and not just because of the nanites. Yer part of me because yer…”  
  
“I get it, Spike” Xander whispered and as he leaned up to look at his lover. “I get it.”  
  
Once again blue eyes met the gaze of brown. Spike could see there was no doubt swimming in the dark depths of his love’s eyes. _He does get it,_ Spike realized.  
  
“I could say it…”  
  
“As much as I’m beginning to suspect you’re really a poet at heart,” Xander said and for once caused Spike to blush, “I don’t think even you have the words to do it justice.”  
  
Xander then swooped in for a kiss of his own. Spike opened his mouth and submitted to Xander’s hungry claim. Tongues danced and the shared taste of Spike and Xander swirled in each other’s mouth. When both men were out of breath, Xander broke the kiss.  
  
“You don’t need to say it, Spike,” Xander said huskily, “because I felt it…I _feel_ it.”

**TBC**


	34. (34/43 plus Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lt. “Xander” Harris and Captain William the Bloody have both suffered and lost in the on going war between the Biogens and Council. Now, Xander finds himself a prisoner of Captain William the Bloody (aka Spike). What will be Xander’s fate?

_Xander then swooped in for a kiss of his own. Spike opened his mouth and submitted to Xander’s hungry claim. Tongues danced and the shared taste of Spike and Xander swirled in each other’s mouth. When both men were out of breath, Xander broke the kiss.  
  
“You don’t need to say it, Spike,” Xander said huskily, “because I felt it…I feel it.”_  


******************************************************************************************************************

“Anything?” Spike asked Wesley as the other man scanned the dead colony. Another day of travel had brought the crew of _The DeSoto_ back to Wash.  
  
“Nooothing,” Wesley slowly said as he read the scanning equipment’s readings.  
  
“Percy?” Spike prompted with the irritating nickname and arched eyebrow.  
  
“There are some anomalous energy readings,” Wesley once again spoke slowly as he studied the scanner.  
  
“And that means wot?”  
  
“I’m not sure. The energy readings aren’t inconsistent with what I would expect….”  
  
“But?”  
  
“Well,” Wes began to explain with a heavy sigh as he turned from his equipment to look at Spike. “I would expect the results to reflect more ‘activity’ since we were here last. Mother Nature has had more time to work meaning scavengers will have moved into the colony.”  
  
“And that would account for the anomalies?  
  
“Possibly.”  
  
“Council then?”  
  
“Uncertain.”  
  
“Raiders?”  
  
Wes sighed again, “Nothing really indicates the situation on Wash has changed. However there _are_ anomalies which could indicate….”  
  
“Scanner interference which would mean….”  
  
“Council forces,” Wes finished.  
  
“Detect any ships?” Spike asked.  
  
Wes once again turned back to study his scanning equipment and answered, “No.”  
  
“Listen up kiddies,” Spike said into the ship communicator broadcasting his voice to the _DeSoto’s_ crew, “we may or may not have company below. It’s _undetermined_. So every one stay frosty and expect trouble.”  
  
“We still wanna do this boss?” Gunn’s voice answered.  
  
“No _we_ don’t ‘wanna’ do this,” Spike growled, irritated and at the situation, “But we are ‘gonna’. Peaches needs answers and we’re going ta get’em to him. Now, Wes, Faith, Gunn and Xander you’re with me planetside.”  
  
“Spike…” came Fred’s quick reply.  
  
“Fred,” Spike cut her short, “if we’ve got company down there then we got trouble. Trouble means _The DeSoto’s_ got to be ready to make a quick exit. I don’t trust anyone else but you with that task.”  
  
There was a moment of silence before Fred replied, “Aye! Aye! Sir!”  
  
Spike smiled, “Be good and maybe I’ll get you that new drive compressor you’ve been asking for.”  
  
Fred’s giggle came through the communicators loud and clear.  
  
***  
  
The crew, sans Fred, gathered in the cargo hold.  
  
“Here,” Gunn said as he shoved a respirator mask into Xander’s hands.  
  
“This mean we're going steady?” Xander asked as he studied the mask.  
  
Gunn growled.  
  
“No, ya git,” Spike said as he took matching mask from Gunn. “There’s a lot of long unburied dead out there. Sometimes Biogen senses work for ya and sometimes….”  
  
“Eww!” Xander said as he mentally go the _sometimes they work against you._  
  
“Don’t feel too special,” Faith said as she donned hers.  
  
Some part of Xander wanted to smile at the affectionate exchange but what lay beyond the _DeSoto’s_ bay doors didn’t allow much room for levity.  
  
“I’m not gonna be left out,” Gunn said as he too donned a mask. Xander arched a brow.  
  
“Decay breeds disease,” Wes explained as he adjusted his mask. “Plain old ordinary humans could pick up a rather nasty, if not deadly, virus or bacterial infection.”  
  
“Once again I say, ‘Ewwww,’” replied Xander as he finally donned his mask.  
  
“Ya ready for this?” Spike asked. Somehow, Xander knew it was for his benefit. Xander nodded.  
  
“Locked and loaded,” replied Gunn.  
  
“I was born ready,” quipped Faith.  
  
“This sooner we complete this task,” Wes said, “the sooner we can leave.”  
  
“Open sesame, Fred,” Spike ordered.  
  
Xander expected the horrors of the massacred colony to be spread out before him when the _DeSoto’s_ doors opened. Instead he was met with a cool breeze and a sunny meadow.  
  
“Colony’s a short hike beyond the tree line,” Spike explained. “Move out!”  
  
Xander fell in line behind Spike. Wes was behind Xander while Faith and Gunn spread out behind everyone else. Marching through the meadow was surreal to Xander. _The DeSoto’s_ crew moved quickly and silently with a deadly purpose. Yet, all around them the meadow was bright, beautiful and inviting. Xander heard birds chirping from the trees and could even spot them if he tried.  
  
It was the stench that first alerted Xander to the wrongness of the place. Despite the mask, Xander couldn’t help but detect a foul sickly odor that automatically twisted his stomach.  
  
“Breathe through it, pet,” Spike voice whispered on the breeze. If Xander hadn’t been a Biogen, he wouldn’t have heard it. Xander wanted to reply but the odor increased in intensity and it was all he could do to breathe while not throwing up.  
  
“Ya will get used to it,” Spike said again quietly.  
  
_How can anyone get “used to” this?_ Xander mentally screamed. A fine sheen broke out on his forehead but he kept his composure even when the group cleared the tree line and entered the colony. Bodies were sprawled on the ground and the smell of decomposition hung thick in the air.  
  
“If ya get sick,” Gunn’s said softly, “don’t do it in the mask.”  
  
Spike held up his hand and made the quick impatient gesture for “QUIET!”  
  
Xander turned his pale face toward Gunn and nodded in thanks. Spike signaled for the crew to spread out though he himself stuck close to Xander.  
  
Xander had seen death but he hadn’t seen decay. Bodies of men, women and children lay sprawled in the streets. Their bodies were distended with protruding eyes and swollen tongues. They were an unnatural rainbow of colors ranging in putrid hues of red, green and black. In obscene mockeries of death, men on their backs looked to have erections.  
  
“Part of the process of decomposition,” Spike explained very quietly as he noted Xander’s horrified gaze. Xander turned his head only to be sickened by the sight of the flies and other insects feasting on open flesh.  
  
Xander desperately wanted to swallow but he was afraid if he did he’d choke. Spike put his hand on Xander’s shoulder.  
  
“Don’t think about it, pet,” Spike said again softly. Xander nodded.  
  
Once again Spike motioned for them to move. Xander walked forward and tried to focus his mind on the task at hand.  
  
_Can’t forget they're human yet can’t think of them that way either,_ Xander thought as he let his eyes wander looking for clues to who was responsible for this carnage.  It was obvious some had died quickly while others had crawled, stumbled and even begged for life before dying.  
  
Xander saw one woman whose face was no longer present from a blast to the head. Xander couldn’t help but be drawn to her for a closer look. He face was gone, but he could still make out around her corpse a halo of red hair which was too close to the same shade as Willow’s.  
  
Xander bent down over the body. It was too late to do anything for her and yet all he could think of was Willow.  Xander wanted to cover the body, to give her some respect in death but he had nothing.  
  
_I will find out who did this to you,_ Xander vowed. Xander forced himself to take a long look at the woman, committing her to memory. Xander took note of the jagged gouges on her arms. The marks could have been wounds obtained while trying to fight. Xander examined the woman more closely and noticed that there appeared to be something in the woman’s right hand.  
  
Xander reached out to pull the woman’s fingers open when Spike’s hand closed around Xander wrist.  
  
“Put this on first,” Spike softly ordered as he held out a latex glove to Xander. Xander nodded and took the glove. Quickly he worked it on over his hand and then cautiously Xander began to touch the woman’s hand.  
  
Bile coated the back of Xander’s throat as the woman’s flesh slid and gave way to Xander’s gentle touch. The flesh was more than malleable and Xander couldn’t help but wonder if it would completely pull away from the bone before he had finished opening the woman’s grip.  
  
“You’re doin’ fine, pet,” Spike reassured Xander. Xander kept his focus on opening the woman’s hand without doing any more damage to her body. Finally, he worked her fingers open and in the palm of her hand was a silver button in the form of a wolf’s head.  
  
Xander and Spike hissed in unison. The silver button was familiar to Biogen and Council a like.  
  
“Raiders!” Xander softly swore.  
  
Spike tapped his communicator three times, summoning Wes, Faith and Gunn. Xander stood up from his crouch and took another closer look at the button. It didn’t give him any more answers; only questions.  
  
“Raiders don’t slaughter,” Xander whispered to Spike. “They enslave….rob…this…this….”  
  
“Doesn’t add up,” Spike finished as the rest of the crew gathered round Xander and Spike.  
  
“Spike?” Wes asked softly.  
  
Xander turned and showed the button to his crewmates.  
  
“Raiders!” Gunn spat as he recognized what Xander held.  
  
“Fu…,” Faith began and then vowed. “They’re dead.”  
  
“Why?” Wes asked. “Is this a setup? Could someone be trying to make us think…”  
  
“Boy found it the woman’s death grip,” Spike interrupted. “More like Raiders did the setup.”  
  
“For what purp…?” Wes began when he was interrupted by Spike’s gesture for “QUIET.”  
  
The crew looked to Spike as he tilted his head as if listening. Xander concentrated and then his eyes went wide as he heard the faint familiar hum of a Council communicator on standby.  
  
“Fall back now!” Spike ordered as he brought his weapon up. Immediately the dead colony was once again alive with violence and chaos as shots were fired from behind the not so quiet buildings at the fleeing _DeSoto_ crew.  
  
Gunn, Faith and Spike returned fire. Xander tried to bring up his own weapon but couldn’t. _What if it’s Buffy or_ _Willow_ _?_ Xander asked. Instead he pocketed the glove and silver button while trying to use his body as cover. Spike was bringing up the rear in full game face firing with deadly accuracy.  
  
_Please,_ Xander prayed, _don’t let Buffy or_ _Willow_ _be here. Don’t let Spike…_  
  
Xander’s thoughts were interrupted as a spray of blood hit him on the face mask and Wes crumpled before him!  
  
“WEESSS!” Faith screamed and dropped her weapon to immediately turn and scoop up her fallen watcher. Gunn was frantically trying to fire to give the Regent and Watcher cover.  
  
_Spike and Gunn aren’t going to be enough!_ Xander thought as he brought up his own weapon and began to return fire. He didn’t aim to kill only to pin down his foes. Xander concentrated on joining with Gunn to give cover. Xander’s world narrowed to two concepts, retreat and fire.  
  
In what seemed liked forever and yet in only moments the retreating crew made it to the tree line.  
  
“Fred,” Faith shouted into her communicator. “Bring the _DeSoto_ in hot to the tree lines. Man down and company’s on fire.”  
  
“Man…” Fred began to ask.  
  
“Bring the bloody ship in!” Spike’s voice ordered over the communicator. Only then did Xander realize Spike wasn’t with them in the tree line.  Xander whirled to look behind him.  
  
Spike was still several meters behind them and still giving cover. Yet, Xander could see Council forces beginning to move in to cut off Spike’s retreat.  
  
“SPIKE!” Xander yelled and tried to run back to his lover.  
  
A hand grabbed Xander’s arm and pulled him back.  
  
“He said retreat,” Gunn snarled.  
  
Xander jerked his arm away from Gunn and growled, “They’re cutting him off!”  
  
Gunn’s eyes went wide behind his mask and then he moved forward as if to join Xander.  
  
“We don’t have time for this!” yelled Faith. “Wes is hit and it’s bad. We need to move toward the ship.”  
  
Gunn and Xander turned to look at Faith. The normally unflappable regent had tears streaming down her face as she had her hands pressed firm on Wes’s bleeding stomach wound.  
  
“If we don’t get him to the ship soon, he’ll die,” she sobbed.  
  
A strangled cry rang out from the direction of the colony. Xander didn’t need to look to know it was Spike, but he did anyway. Spike was hit and down on the ground with Council forces surrounding him.  
  
“Spike…” Xander whimpered in horror as he began to move. Once again Gunn’s hand stopped him.  
  
“He wouldn’t want you…”  
  
“Fuck that!” Xander snarled. “It’s Spike! We can’t just leave him!”  
  
“Xander,” Faith cried as she held the unconscious Wes.  
  
Xander looked at his three crewmates. _Ghods! I can’t just leave him!_ Xander thought and then tore of his mask. He used the image of Spike down and surrounded by hostile force to keep from doubling over with the smell of the decaying carnage back at the colony site.  
  
“Xan…” once again Gunn started.  
  
“I’m going to get him back,” Xander snarled as he began tearing at the bottom of his shirt.  
  
“We don’t have time…,” Faith argued and then turned toward the tree line where they could see _The DeSoto_ coming into a hover with the cargo bay doors open.  
  
“In position,” Fred’s voice rang out over the communicators while the ramp from the cargo was being lowered.  
  
Xander tore a strip of his shirt and then began to wrap and tie it off around his left eye.  
  
“Xander,” Faith began again, “what are you going to do?”  
  
“I’m going to get him back,” Xander said as he dropped his weapon and pulled the glove with silver button out of his pocket.  
  
“Spike wouldn’t…,” Gunn began to argue and once again grabbed Xander’s arm. Xander jerked it away.  
  
“I’m getting him BACK!” Xander hissed and then shoved the silver button into Gunn’s empty hand. “You two get Wes back to the ship and then get the hell out of here. Give the button to Angel.”  
  
“Xander you can’t…,” Faith said.  
  
“I’m not leaving him,” Xander cut her off.  
  
“He wouldn’t wa….”  
  
“He wouldn’t leave m…any of us,” Xander once again interrupted Faith. Then he looked her calmly in the eye. “Faith, you have to get out of here.”  
  
“This isn’t going to work,” Faith argued.  
  
Xander reached out and touched Faith’s face and gently wiped a tear away. “I promise you, on Jesse’s memory, I’ll bring him back. NOW GO!”  
  
Faith held Xander’s focus for a moment before turning to Gunn and ordering, “Cover us!”  
  
As if one, Faith and Gunn moved out. Faith hoisted Wesley over her shoulder and began running towards the ship. Gunn sent a brief look of solidarity to Xander and then followed Faith. Xander turned and headed back towards the colony with his hands up.  
  
It didn’t take long for Xander to hear the ramp of _The DeSoto_ lifting and the bay doors closing. Nor did it take long for Xander to be surrounded by Council forces.  
  
“Don’t shoot!” Xander yelled. “Lt. Alexander LaVelle Harris! Thank ghods you found me!  Not that you lost me but I’m definitely of the needing….”  
  
“Shut up,” one of the soldiers ordered. Xander noted the man’s uniform. It was Sergeant Forrest Gates. Xander knew he served with Riley.  
  
“Gates!” Xander yelled. “My hero! Is Captain Riley here?”  
  
Gates narrowed his eye and answered, “Back at the colony with the Biogen.”  
  
“You got Sp..Bloody?” Xander asked. “You kill the bastard?”  
  
“Nah,” Bates said. “You know those things aren’t so easy to kill.”  
  
Xander fought to keep his relief from showing and said, “Good! I want him alive and to stand trial back on Council prime.”  
  
“Well what you want and what you get depends on, Riley,” Forrest replied. “Now keep your hands up and move out.”  
  
Forrest indicated with the wave of his gun for Xander to continue to move back to the colony. Xander moved and tried not to twitch at the knowledge of all the loaded and aimed guns point at his back. _If they open fire at this range,_ Xander thought, _I’ll be a humpty dumpty Xan-man with a lot of out of work nanites._  
  
Xander tried to keep his mind focused on Spike. Frantically he searched the area in front of him until he spotted his lover. Spike was a bloody, but alive, restrained mess on his knees in front of Riley. Xander hissed.  
  
“You say somethin’?” Gates asked as he shoved the point of his gun into Xander’s left armpit.  
  
“Fuckin’ William the Bloody,” Xander spat. “Heartless Biogen scum!”  
  
Gates withdrew the gun and said, “Keep moving.”  
  
Riley looked up and noted the men approaching and so did Spike. Spike began snarling and straining at the reinforced cuffs holding his arms back. Xander could see signs of a few blast wounds on already on the mend. Spike’s mask was also missing and his face looked bruised and swollen.  
  
“Harris!” Riley grunted as Xander and his escort approached.  
  
“Captain!” Xander addressed Riley.  
  
“Xan…,” Spike began and was cut short by Riley’s boot to Spike’s face.  
  
_No flinchage!_ Xander reminded himself as he forced himself to not react or to slide into game face. _So don’t have the numbers right now!_  
  
“What are you doing here?” Riley asked Xander.  
  
“Was sorta escaping,” Xander replied. Riley arched an eyebrow. “Angel sent _The DeSoto_  out here…”  
  
“They responsible for this massacre?” Riley snapped.  
  
Xander shook his head. “No, they just got here. We're supposed to pick up a shipment or something. I’m not really sure. Bloody and his crew not being big with information to the Council prisoner and celeb hostage.”  
  
Riley motioned Xander closer by him and Spike. “Prisoner huh?”  
  
Xander nodded. Spike snarled but otherwise didn’t say anything. _Don’t go all bossy and blow this,_ Xander silently urged but did not look at Spike. Xander kept his eyes focused on Riley.  
  
“And you escaped?” Riley asked.  
  
“Yeah…you clipped one of them. While they were busying hauling his near carcass up I bailed out,” Xander was interrupted by another round of Spike rage and resistance. Riley kicked him again and aimed his gun towards Spike. Xander quickly reached out and grabbed the weapon.  
  
“No!” Xander screamed. Riley jerked the weapon from Xander’s grasp and pointed it at Xander.  
  
“Why not?” asked Riley.  
  
“I want him to stand trial!”  
  
“Things don’t get trials,” Riley replied.  
  
“They do when they kidnap and torture the Regent’s friend and donut boy!” Xander said desperate to pull some sort of leverage with Riley without threatening Riley’s positron.  
  
Spike went still and silent at Xander’s accusation of “kidnap and torture.” Xander didn’t risk the chance of sending a comforting glance to his lover. Instead he kept his eye fixed on Riley.  
  
“What happened to your eye patch?” Riley asked.  
  
“Bastard took it first day he had me,” Xander smoothly replied, recognizing the tactic as one designed to throw Xander off guard. “Like to look and poke at it and that’s not just a metaphor.”  
  
Riley grunted. “Spies had it you and _William_ here were close.”  
  
“Yeah, well it’s hard to be far apart when you are chained to the end of his bed,” Xander replied ignoring the snickering around him.  
  
Riley smiled without mirth and said, “Heard you weren’t exactly having a problem with that?”  
  
Without missing a beat, but praying Spike would understand, Xander replied, “I did what I had to to survive. You don’t think I’d willingly submit to that do you?”  
  
Riley arched an eyebrow.  
  
_Remember your promise,_ Xander silently begged Spike without looking at him.  
  
“That,” Xander said as he pointed without looking at Spike, “is beneath me!”  
  
Then before Xander could see the look on Spike’s face he delivered his own kick to it. The force of Xander’s kick sent Spike reeling and falling backwards to the ground and unconscious.

**TBC**


	35. (35/43 plus Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lt. “Xander” Harris and Captain William the Bloody have both suffered and lost in the on going war between the Biogens and Council. Now, Xander finds himself a prisoner of Captain William the Bloody (aka Spike). What will be Xander’s fate?

_Without missing a beat, but praying Spike would understand, Xander replied, “I did what I had to to survive. You don’t think I’d willingly submit to that do you?”_  
  
Riley arched an eyebrow.   
  
Remember your promise, Xander silently begged Spike without looking at him.  
  
“That,” Xander said as he pointed without looking at Spike, “is beneath me!”  
  
Then before Xander could see the look on Spike’s face he delivered his own kick to it. The force of Xander’s kick sent Spike reeling and falling backwards to the ground unconscious.  
  
Faith wasn’t sure how they cleared the Wash colony and the Council forces. Faith’s focus had been Wesley and the steady amount of blood pumping out of his abdomen. She remembered stumbling into their makeshift medbay screaming for Fred.  
  
Too soon and too late it seemed Fred ran into the bay, stumbling when  _The DeSoto_ was rocked by Council fire. Faith remembered Fred shoving her away from Wesley and screaming at Faith to go help Gunn. Faith hadn’t wanted to leave Wesley. A hard slap had sent Faith reeling and brought her focus to Fred.  
  
“GO HELP GUNN!” Fred had screamed and then turned to begin to work on the too pale Wesley.   
  
Faith didn’t remember getting to the bridge. She didn’t remember taking over piloting the  _DeSoto_  while Gunn worked on returning fire. Faith just remembered thinking,  _Wesley’s eyes are blue,_   _not his lips. Lips aren’t blue._  
  
Faith didn’t know whether it had been days or rotations since their hasty retreat. What she did know was that she was tired. She sat in the galley staring at her bloodstained hands while Gunn poured her a proto-fizz.  
  
“Drink it,” Gunn ordered. “Even Regents can go into shock.”  
  
Faith nodded and took a sip. The bubbles irritated her sore throat.  _Had she screamed that much or did tears do that to you?_  
  
“Fred said she’d be here in a few to give us an update,” Gunn said.  
  
_Was that good news or bad news?_  Faith wondered.  _Isn’t SOP for bad news to be delivered in person?_  
  
“Faith,” Gunn tried again to bring the Regent back to the present, “Wes is strong.”  
  
“There was so much blood,” Faith whispered.   
  
“We can’t lose it now, girl,” Gunn tried again. “Spike…”  
  
“Spike’s gone!” Faith cried finally meeting Gunn’s gaze.  
  
“And Xander’s gonna bring him back!”   
  
“And you believe that?” Faith laughed bitterly.  
  
“Yes,” Gunn said simply, “and so do you.”  
  
There was a faint knock on the galley archway. Gunn and Faith swiveled their attention to Fred who was entering the galley.  
  
“I could use one of those, Charles,” Fred said as she nodded her chin in the direction of Faith’s proto-fizz.   
  
Gunn got up and poured Fred a glass of the fizzy liquid. Fred sat down next to Faith. Gunn sat back down on the other side of the table opposite “his” girls. Gunn slid the asked for drink over to Fred.   
  
“Thank you,” Fred said before she took a drink. She could feel the tension radiating off of Faith. Fred wasn’t trying to be cruel in not immediately updating Faith and Charles on Wesley’s status, but she’d just had her hands inside a man she knew loved her and she needed a moment to compose herself.   
  
_A moment, that ain’t too much to ask for,_  Fred thought,  _is it?_  
  
“Fred?” Faith quietly urged.  
  
Fred sighed. “I have him stabilized…for now.”  
  
Faith and Gunn released a sigh of their own.  
  
“I won’t lie to you,” Fred continued. “It’s not good.”  
  
“How bad?” Gunn asked.  
  
“He was hit from front to back on the left side. I think his left kidney is gone and so is the spleen.  Bone fragments from the shattered eleventh rib appear to have lodged themselves in the thoracic and lumbar regions of the spine…”  
  
Faith choked back a cry.  
  
“The abdominal aorta was hit. I’ve managed to seal it and the other bleeders. I’ve cleaned out the abdominal cavity as much as I dare….”  
  
“Is he gonna make it?” Gunn asked.  
  
“Not if we wait until we reach Hyperion to get him proper medical care,” Fred said.  
  
“You have him stabilized?” Faith asked.  
  
Fred nodded, “It’s taken almost our entire blood and plasma standby, but yeah I think I do. I also have him sedated, but he needs professional care now.”  
  
“What’s the closest friendly colony with that kind of juice?” Gunn asked.  
  
“Inara,” Faith replied.  
  
Fred nodded. “They should have the facilities to treat him there. They might even be able to treat the spine. The sooner they can get the fragments out and start the SC therapy, the sooner he has a chance of being able to walk again.”  
  
“There’s a chance of that?” Gunn asked.  
  
Fred smiled grimly, “Well it’s not Biogen science, but stem cell therapy has been around for some time. If we can get a graft started on his spine soon his chances are good.”  
  
None of the remaining  _DeSoto_  crew articulated what they were thinking. On Hyperion they had the ability to ensure Wesley’s full recovery, but if they waited to get him there he might not make it at all.  
  
“We’re going to Inara,” Faith said as she stood up to head for the bridge. “Fred, stay with Wes. Let me know if anything changes. Gunn, find out who we can trust on the colony. I don’t think we can risk sending a message to Angel right now, but we’ll want to get word to him as soon as we can.”  
  
Fred and Gunn nodded. Faith tried to smile and then left for the bridge. She still hadn’t thought to wash the blood from her hands.  
  
  
***  
  
“My poor, Spike,”  the soft voice drifted into Spike’s consciousness. Spike blinked into the pressing and surrounding darkness.  
  
“Bugger off,” Spike spat as he struggled against the wrist restraints that held him to a hard and cold metal wall.  
  
“They’ve put my Spike in the corner and taken his toys away,”  the voice spoke again.  
  
Spike furrowed his brow; the voice was feminine and familiar.  
  
“Some vid tricks will get you Jack and shite,“ Spike snarled while slipping into game face. “And Jack just took a big crapper before heading out the airlock.”  
  
The voice giggled and a light began to slowly filter in front of Spike slowly revealing the tall and willowy form of a thin pale young woman with dark eyes and darker hair. She reached out a hand to gently trace the hard edge of Spike’s cheek.  
  
“Dru,” Spike whispered in a broken sigh momentarily forgetting his circumstances.  
  
The woman smiled and leaned down close to Spike so her lips hovered above his.   
  
“My poor William, Dru softly breathed across Spike’s lips.  
  
“Yer not real,” Spike said in another broken whisper and let his face resume it's natural form.  
  
“Was I ever?” Dru asked.  
  
“Go away, luv,” Spike said as he turned his face away from his haunted apparition.  
  
“Not before you remember your promise,” Dru said.  
  
“Promise?”  Spike looked back at Dru.  
  
“Ms. Edith said you can’t come to tea,” Dru started to say in a sing song voice as she almost seemed to float away from Spike. “We have no biscuits.”  
  
Spike dropped his head forward.  _They got the nutters part right,_  he thought.  
  
“I’m not serving the bad boys either," Dru pouted. “I’ll not dance or pour for them when they hurt my Spike so.”  
  
Spike looked up at Dru.  _How did she…?_  
  
Dru smiled, “You never hid your thoughts from me, not even when they were naughty, naughty thoughts.”  
  
“Dru?”  Spike asked again dreading and yet hoping for her answer.  
  
The woman smiled again and then began to twirl around. The light followed and seemed to only illuminate her.  
  
“My poor Spike all alone in the dark without his toys or his kitten for comfort.”  
  
“Kitten?”   
  
Dru stopped twirling around and then returned to hover over Spike.  
  
“Remember your promise, Spike.”  
  
Dru once again ran her hand gently over Spike’s face. “Remember your promise. Remember your kitten?”  
  
_Wot the bloody hell is she talking about?_  Spike wondered.  
  
“Dru, luv, if there was something I’ve forgotten,” Spike said, “Some memory I forgot to honor or promise made….”  
  
“Spike,”  Dru interrupted in the voice she used to use to correct a naughty child, “I’m your Dark Princess and you have never disappointed me.”  
  
“I don’t understand, luv,” Spike said.  
  
Dru once again backed away and began to twirl in the darkness.   
  
“He’s dark eyed and light hearted,” Dru began to sing song, “He rolls over and purrs sweetly but his claws are sharp!”  
  
Dru curled her fingers and pantomimed clawing at the darkness.   
  
_‘Dark eyed’ and his claws are sharp?_  Spike thought and then he jerked hard against his restraints and focused his gaze on Dru.  
  
“Xander?”  
  
“Oh he’s a sweet kitten!” Dru said as she laughed, twirled and clapped her hands. “He keeps my Spike warm and in smiles.”  
  
“What about Xander?” Spike asked desperately.  
  
Dru stopped spinning and drifted back to Spike.  “Remember your promise,” she said.  
  
_My bloody promise?_ Spike thought.  _What is she talking about?_  
  
Then once again Spike jerked against his restraints as realization surged through him almost painfully.  
  
“I love him, Dru,”  Spike said in a stronger voice then he’d yet used. “That hasn’t changed.”  
  
Dru smiled then and pressed a soft kiss to Spike’s lips. The kiss was sweet and swift. It left something in Spike a little more broken and yet a little more restored.  
  
“Then make sure you keep your promise,”  Dru smiled. “Make sure….”  
  
“My promise?” Spike started to interrupt only to have Dru lay a long silencing finger over his lips.  
  
“Blue for your eyes,” Dru continued, “and kitten brown for him. Silver for shining in the dark and for showing him how precious he is.”  
  
“Dru?”   
  
“Remember, my Spike,” Dru said softly. “Good kittens need collars to remind them that no matter where they stray or how lost they get, they have a home.”  
  
Spike stilled for a moment marveling in Dru’s touch and what she was telling him. For a moment Spike was lost in the letting go and the hanging on; then he smiled.  
  
“I suspect he does,” Spike said.  
  
Dru smiled in return before once again spinning away and clapping her hands.  
  
“He’ll take good care of you, Spike,” Dru said as she danced in circles, “He’ll be sweet, soft and warm. He’ll be yours but like all good kittens he’ll also be his.”  
  
“Wouldn’t want it any other way,” Spike smiled again.  
  
“Make him purr, Spike,” Dru said as she continued to twirl. Then the light which had been illuminating Dru began to flicker and fade.   
  
“Make him purr and he’ll make you smile,” Dru’s fading voice continued to sing song until the light and her form were completely gone.  
  
“I will,” Spike promised.  
  
Pain suddenly flared through Spike’s being and he felt his whole body arch in response.  
  
“Will what, Seventeen?” A harsh voice demanded as another bout of pain raced from Spike’s skull and down his spine. “Be a good Biogen?”  
  
When the next surge of pain coursed through Spike his stomach revolted in protest. Bile erupted from Spike’s mouth and spilled down his chest.  
  
“I guess you forgot how much pain the chip can produce, eh?” the voice asked as hard knuckles rasped against something metallic lodged in a tender and raw spot on the side of Spike’s head.  
  
Spike felt his wrists released and he fell forward face first onto the floor.  
  
“We will just have to remind you, Seventeen,” the voice spat as a swift kick was delivered into Spike’s side.   
  
“Lesson one; we can hurt you all we want,” the voice said as two more swift kicks were pounded into Spike’s lower back.  
  
“But you?” the voice said, “Well that’s lesson number two. You. Can’t. HURT. US!”  
  
This time the succession of kicks punctuating the voice’s last four words were aimed at Spike’s face.    
  
_Why’s it always in the bloody face?_  Spike briefly wondered before he once again surrendered into unconsciousness. 


	36. (36/43 plus Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lt. “Xander” Harris and Captain William the Bloody have both suffered and lost in the on going war between the Biogens and Council. Now, Xander finds himself a prisoner of Captain William the Bloody (aka Spike). What will be Xander’s fate?

_This time the succession of kicks punctuating the voice’s last four words were aimed at Spike’s face.  
  
Why’s it always in the bloody face? _ Spike briefly wondered before he once again surrendered into unconsciousness.  
  
***  
  
Xander paced outside the  _Snyder’s_  bridge. Riley was reporting into Buffy, again, before Xander would finally have a chance to talk with her and Willow. Xander hissed and felt the ball of writhing emotions well up. For a moment, Xander’s vision started to tilt “golden.”  
  
_Careful, Xan-man,_  Xander silently admonished,  _showing off the ‘new and improved’ Xander features won’t do Spike any good other than get him a new roommate and it’s well known the guest accommodations suck._  
  
Xander took a deep breath. His emotions were high and conflicted. On the one hand he was anxious to talk with Willowand Buffy; anxious to know they were all right and to let them know he was all right. He had missed them.  
  
Yet Xander was terrified. Spike was alone, unarmed and thoroughly in enemy territory.  _Worse then enemy territory,_ Xander thought,  _he’s in Council custody under Riley’s command._  
  
“Fuck!” Xander muttered as he continued his pacing.  _How long does it take for Riley to make a_ second _report?_  
  
Riley had reported in immediately once he had brought Xander and Spike aboard. Xander flinched at the memories of Spike’s beaten and bloodied face.  _I helped in that!_  Xander bit the inside of his cheek to keep from crying.  _I hurt Spike!_  
  
Then Xander clenched his fists and thought:  _He’s probably in worse shape now!_  Xander knew what happened to captured Biogens. Hell at one time he might have been all on board the brutal train.  _Back when I believed the Council lies,_  Xander thought.  
  
Some part of Xander desperately wanted to believe that Riley wasn’t another victim of the same propaganda, but Xander knew better. He’d already seen the look in Riley’s eye when he’d kicked Spike.   
  
_Riley would have never fallen for Caleb’s line,_  Xander thought and for the first time that thought didn’t bring a flush of shame to Xander’s face. Xander snorted.  
  
_I may have been a naïve fool to trust Caleb,_  Xander thought,  _but I wasn’t a fellow sadist. Better to be a one-eyed freak than a heartless bastard!_  
  
For a moment Xander briefly smiled as he could almost hear Spike’s voice calling him a “daft git” at Xander’s near moment of inner rambling profundity.   
  
“Spike,” Xander closed his eyes and barely whispered, “Hang on you bossy blond menace.”  
  
Xander opened his eyes and resumed pacing again.  _What the hell is taking so long?_  He wondered.   
  
During Riley’s first report Xander had been given a cursory examination by the ship’s doctor. Xander had refused anything more then a check of vital signs, insisting he only wanted to be examined by his doctor, Tara Maclay. Xander had known it would piss Riley off, but for the first time Xander wasn’t afraid of invoking his Council connections to get what he wanted.   
  
“I’m only going through the humiliation of thorough exam once,” Xander had argued, “and I want it to be done not only by a friend but by the best.”   
  
No one would argue that not only was Dr. Maclay one of the best physicians she was also a close friend of Xander’s being married to the Council’s chief Cyber-mage Willow. Riley’s men had grumbled, but after a brief examination by the _Snyder’s_  doctor, Xander had been given a replacement eye-patch and sent on his way. Xander waited until he was alone to put on the new patch.  
  
Being sent on his way had meant being escorted to a small cabin where Xander had been allowed to shower and change into a provided Council uniform.  Xander had taken a few minutes before leaving his cabin to study his reflection in the small mirror.   
  
The uniformed Xander in the mirror had long hair, a sharper edge to his features and a more confident stance then the one before Xander had met Spike. Xander looked out of place. The Council soldier image didn’t fit him anymore.   
  
Xander had tugged at the collar of his uniform and itched to strip it off and throw it away along with the useless eye-patch.  However, he knew he had to play the role now for Spike.   
  
Xander had taken a small comfort in noting that his hair was longer than regulation.  _Not going to cut it,_  Xander vowed. _Gonna let Spike gloat and stroke this shaggy mop to his arrogant heart’s content once we’re safely together again._  
  
Then Xander had smiled and exited his cabin. He’d ordered his “escorts” to take him to the bridge. Of course that had to be cleared by Riley and of course that hadn’t been exactly a well received “request” but it turned out that Riley really had no choice as Buffy had asked to speak with Xander as soon as he was ready.  
  
So now Xander was ready and pacing outside the bridge while Riley filed another report. Once again Xander felt his vision blur and his face “itched.” Once again Xander took another deep breath.  
  
“Harris!” Riley’s voice boomed as the bridge doors flew open.  Xander jumped.  
  
“The Prime Regent is ready to speak with you,” Riley said.  
  
_Jerk,_  Xander thought as he nodded and fought the urge to roll his eyes as he entered the bridge. Riley pointed at a chair in front of the communication console.  
  
“The Regent has asked we clear the bridge while she  _interviews_  you,” Riley said with barely suppressed anger. Then with a quick gesture at his crew Riley left the bridge. His crew quickly followed.   
  
Xander took a deep breath and stepped forward to slide into the chair.  
  
  
***  
  
“Xander!” Willow’s joyful cry reached Xander’s ears before his butt met the seat of the chair.  
  
“Xander,” Buffy’s breathless voice followed quickly behind Willow’s.  
  
“Wills,..Buf,” Xander said as he tried to focus past his blurred vision to see “his girls.”  
  
“Xan, don’t cry,” Willow said as a tear drop trailed down her cheek.  
  
“Cry?” Xander asked as he sniffled and brushed his hand over his right eye. “Who’s cryin? Just allergies here. Must be Riley’s cologne.”  
  
Buffy laughed and wiped her own eyes.  
  
“One of Willow’s ‘relaxing’ incenses on this end,” Buffy said.  
  
“X..Xander, it’s good to s..s..see you,” whispered Tara who quickly appeared behind Willow. “You ok?”  
  
“Never better,” Xander answered.  
  
“I am relieved to hear that, Xander,” the Watcher’s crisp and accented voice said as Giles appeared behind Buffy. “We all look forward to your quick and safe return.”  
  
“Thanks, G-man,” Xander smoothly replied keeping the chill he felt twisting in his gut absent from his response.  _How could you be part of the lies?_  Xander thought.  _How could you hide the truth? How could you lie to US?_  
  
“How many times have I asked you not to call…,” Giles began and then paused to study Xander. “Are you ok?”  
  
Xander flashed a smile. “I’m fine. Just a little overwhelmed, not too mention suffering from severe Cheesey Twists withdrawal.”  
  
Once again Xander’s girls laughed. Giles took off his glasses and rubbed at the lenses with his handkerchief.  
  
“W..we..well once I check you out,” Tara said, “I’ll be sure to au..authorize a chocolate and snack food filled w..welcome home p..p…party,”  
  
“Right!” Buffy agreed. “No one goes home without eating major quantities of poundage inducing junk food!”  
  
“Good Lord," Giles said as he reseated his glassed on his nose. “We might as well surrender now. None of the Regents will be left in fighting condition.”  
  
Xander faked another smile.  
  
“Don’t worry about that,” Buffy growled. “After what they did to Xander there won’t be any Biogens left to surrender to.”  
  
“Buf…”  
  
“No Xander!” Buffy cut him off. “What they did to you is unforgivable.”  
  
_What did they know?_ Xander wondered.  _What did their spies tell them?_  
  
“I’m alive, Buffy,” Xander said.  
  
“Xander,” Willow said. “What they did does not go unpunished or unforgotten.”  
  
Xander hid a wince as he could almost feel Willow’s cyber implants cackling with energy.  
  
“Wills, it wasn’t that b…”  
  
“By your own admission you said you were tortured!”   
  
This time Xander’s wince showed. He had said that he’d been tortured to Riley and no doubt the tinman  _had_  reported that to Buffy. Xander’s gut twisted more. He couldn’t talk with Buffy and Willow now. He couldn’t talk to them when he and Spike were still on Riley’s ship.  
  
_This is going to have to be a face to face angst fest,_  Xander thought.   
  
“X…Xander, are you a..all right?” Tara asked.  
  
“I’m fine,” Xander sighed. “I just…Can we talk about all this when I get back?”  
  
“Absolutely!” Willow quickly said as she pantomimed zipping her lips.  
  
“I understand,” Buffy said, “but we do have to talk about one thing before then.”  
  
“Sp..William the bloody?” Xander asked not missing Giles’s narrowed look at Xander’s near misstep.  
  
Buffy nodded. “I understand that you want to bring him back here?”  
  
“Yes,” Xander said.  
  
“For…trial?”   
  
Xander nodded.  
  
“Xander, Biogens don’t get a trial. You know that,” Giles said.  
  
“They’re things,” Buffy spat.  
  
“Right,” Xander choked. “I just…well…Xan-man scrambled. It’s just that…Bloody is Angel’s right hand…”  
  
“Which means I want to interrogate him,” Buffy said, “personally. Not give him a trial.”  
  
Xander swallowed his fear and added,” Well then I think you’d better tell Riley.”  
  
“I have.”  
  
“Buf, you weren’t there when they captured him,” Xander said. “Bloody might not make it….”  
  
“Xander,” Giles said, “Captain Finn has his orders.”  
  
“And accidents happen!” Xander replied.  
  
The Regent and her inner circle fell quiet for a moment. Then Buffy said, “What do you wanna do?”  
  
“Put me in charge of the prisoner.”  
  
Willow gasped and both Buffy and Giles’s faces tightened.  
  
“Xander, I’m..n..not s..sure that’s a g..good idea,” said Tara.  
  
“She’s right, “Willow said.  
  
_I’m going to have to convince them I hate Spike!_  Xander thought.  _C’mon Xan-man, you can do this._  
  
“Buffy,” Xander said in a tone of voice he’d only ever used when talking to the girls about Caleb, “trust me. I  _need_  to see he gets back to the ‘Dale. I want him to face you and Wills. And most of all, I want him to know  _I_  brought him to you.”  
  
Once again Buffy and the others were silent. Then Giles sighed.  
  
“All right, Xander,“ Buffy said. “I’ll tell Riley that you are in charge of Seventeen.”  
  
_Seventeen?_  Xander wondered and then realized it must be Spike’s prisoner designation.  
  
“Thank you, Buffy,” Xander said. His girls smiled back.  
  
_I’ve convinced them,_ Xander thought.  _Now I’m going to have to convince Riley._  
  
***  
  
After Xander had finished his conversation with the girls he’d had the pleasure of “sending” Riley back into the bridge and once again Xander was left pacing outside the bridge while he waited for Riley to finish speaking with Buffy.  However, it was almost worth it when Riley marched out of the bridge, his face purple with suppressed rage.  
  
_Buffy pulled rank on you big time, huh?_  Xander thought as he hid his smile.  
  
“Regent Buffy has ordered that you be in charge of Seventeen,” Riley said, his voice clipped and sharp.  
  
Xander nodded.  
  
“I suppose you would like to see the prisoner?”  
  
“Yes.”  
  
Riley leaned deep into Xander’s personal space and stared at his subordinate with high connections.  
  
“This is still my ship, Lt. Harris. I’m responsible for the safety of every man and woman aboard. I don’t trust you. I think you’re compromised and until I think otherwise….”  
  
“Just show me the prisoner,” Xander barked, his return gaze as penetrating as Riley’s.  
  
Riley arched an eyebrow, “Not quite the donut boy you were, huh Harris?”  
  
“You can definitely say I’m a changed man,” Xander smoothly replied keeping his human face firmly in place.   
  
“What’s the fire to see Seventeen?” Riley asked.  
  
“Payback’s a bitch,” Xander once again made his voice as hard as Riley’s.  
  
Riley’s dry laugh surprised Xander.  
  
“No, Harris,” Riley corrected, “Payback’s a virgin…a bitch is too easy.”  
  
Xander swallowed his revulsion and nodded.  
  
“Show me the prisoner,” Xander ordered.  
   
***  
  
Riley briefed Xander on the way to the  _Snyder’s_ brig.  
  
“Sgt. Gates has been assigned to handle the prisoner,” Riley explained.  
  
“Forrest?” Xander asked with a tremor of trepidation.  
  
“Gates can the handle the situation,” Riley answered.  
  
“Xander knew Sgt. Forrest Gates was Riley’s right hand man. Xander also knew Gates’s hatred for Biogens had once rivaled Xander’s.  
  
“What has he done to secure Sp…Seventeen?” Xander asked.  
  
Riley smiled, “You’ll see.”  
  
_Hang on, Spike!_  Xander thought as he feared for Spike’s condition.  _Hang on!_  
  
  
***  
  
Specialist Graham Miller was standing at attention outside the brig’s door when Xander and Riley approached.  Graham’s presence was a small comfort to Xander. While Specialist Miller was a loyal soldier and believed in the Council’s cause, Xander had never known him to be cruel. In fact, Xander had always seen Graham as a calm and sane man in the mix of hot headed tinmen like Riley and Forrest.  
  
“Specialist Miller,” Xander acknowledged as he approached the guard.   
  
Miller snapped to attention and saluted Xander.  _That’s another thing I like about him,_  Xander thought.  _He treats me like a Lieutenant and not the Regent’s donut boy._  
  
“Sirs,” Miller said addressing both his senior ranking officers.  
  
“Gates in there with the prisoner?” Riley asked.  
  
“Yes sir!”  
  
“Prisoner secure?” Riley asked.  
  
Miller looked uncomfortable for a moment as if he’d remembered something unpleasant and then he responded, “Yes sir! I believe so sir.”  
  
Once again Xander swallowed his fear and said, “I’d like to see the prisoner.”  
  
Miller looked to Riley for authorization. Riley nodded. Miller turned and entered the code to open the brig door.   
  
“Aren’t you going to inform him about the new or…” Xander began to ask.  
  
Riley put a hand to Xander’s chest and turned sharply to face him.  
  
“When and  _if_  you can convince me that placing you in charge of Seventeen won’t put my ship at risk,” Riley hissed.  
  
Xander bit the inside of his cheek and nodded. Riley held Xander in place for a moment more before retreating and letting Xander enter the brig.  
  
Before Xander could register how completely dark the brig was, he noted how disgusting it smelt. There was the smell of stale urine, old sweat, rancid blood, and adrenaline pumped from pain.  
  
“Lights,” Xander gagged even as he kept himself from making the switch to his Biogen enhanced vision.  
  
“Gates,” Riley ordered, “secure your self.”  
  
“Yes sir,” Gates’s voice drifted from the darkness.   
  
“Lights!” Riley ordered and then the brig was flooded with light. Forrest stood nearby with a set of night goggles in hand. However, Xander didn’t notice. Xander’s focus was firmly placed on the bloody and bruised huddle of flesh on the floor.  
  
“S…SEVENTEEN!” Xander gasped.  
  
At the sound of Xander’s voice Spike opened his swollen eyes. Blood tinged the white around his brilliant blue irises. Spike remained silent and motionless.  
  
“The new chip is in place as ordered, sir,” Gates addressed Riley.   
  
Xander dropped to his haunches and studied Spike further. Indeed he noticed a metallic ring embedded in the right side of Spike’s skull.   
  
“Excellent,” Riley said.   
  
“Is it functioning?” Xander asked keeping the dread from his voice.  
  
“Yes sir!” Gates replied before pressing a button on a wrist device.   
  
Spike’s body arched, convulsed and the usually arrogant Biogen let loose a broken scream.  
  
“STOP!” Xander immediately ordered.  
  
Gates looked to Riley. Riley nodded. Gates pressed another button and Spike’s was once again motionless and silent except for his labored breathing. Xander stood up and whirled around.  
  
“Give me the wrist device!” Xander ordered.  
  
Gates once again looked to Riley.   
  
“Not until you prove me to me this isn’t a mistake,” Riley said.  
  
“Captain Finn you have your orders from the Prime Regent herself,” Xander challenged.  
  
“And I told you,  _Lieutenant_  Harris, I am not putting my ship and people at risk until I know placing you in charge of Seventeen isn’t a mistake!”  
  
“No one wants to see Seventeen secure more than I,” Xander said, “and NO ONE wants to see him reach the ‘Dale alive more than I.”  
  
“I don’t doubt any of those things,” Riley said. “What I doubt is that you haven’t been compromised by your time with Seventeen and that your motives have less to do with Council loyalties and more to do with what’s best for Seventeen!”  
  
Xander hissed in a rage he let show. “You know NOTHING about my motives, Finn!”  
  
Xander spun around and faced Spike again. Spike’s eyes were still fixed on Xander.   
  
The two lovers stared at each other.  _Please understand,_ Xander silently pleaded with his eye,  _please understand._  
  
“Get him up and into the brig’s shower,” Xander barked, “and I’ll show you exactly what this thing means to me! I’ll give you the proof you want!”  
  
Spike’s eyes widened a bit, but he still remained silent and motionless. Behind Xander, Finn and Gates shared a look. Then Finn nodded. Gates stepped around Xander and grabbed Spike by the back of the neck.  
  
“UP!” Gates ordered as he dragged Spike onto his feet. “Move!”  
  
Gates shoved Spike forward and to another set of doors. Gates swiped his hand over a panel and the doors slid open. He shoved Spike forward hard enough to send the Biogen stumbling into the cold and tiled room.   
  
There was a toilet and sink to one side of the room while there was an open shower on there other side. Along the middle wall was a small bench.  
  
“Strip!” Xander barked.   
  
Spike finally showed some emotion by whirling around and snarling at Xander in game face. Gates punched Spike hard enough to send him to the floor.  
  
“You heard him!” Gates barked.  
  
“Harris,” Finn asked in confusion and surprise.  
  
Xander turned his focus away from Spike and looked at Riley.   
  
“I want my pound of flesh,” Xander replied letting all the hatred he felt for this situation ooze into every syllable. “An eye for an eye.”  
  
Finn’s eyes narrowed. Xander laughed bitterly.  
  
“Not literally, Captain,” Xander said as he stepped into the brig bathroom. “Seventeen, I won’t  _ask_  again. Strip!”  
  
Spike stumbled to his feet and stared at Xander. Then slowly as if on automatic pilot he began to peel away his clothes. Xander swallowed bile and began to remove his own clothes.  
  
“This chip will fire if he trie…,” Xander began to ask.  
  
Gates licked his lips and smiled. “You can do whatever you want, sir. The chip will fire if he tries to fight back in anyway.”  
  
Xander nodded. “Then get out. This is between S…Seventeen and I.”  
  
Once again Gates looked past Xander and to Riley. Riley raised an eyebrow and then motioned with his chin for Gates to leave.  Gates laughed and then winked at a now nude Spike. Spike snarled and Gates laughed again as he left the bathroom. The door closed behind him.  
  
Xander finished stripping and put his folded clothes on the bench. He was left dressed only in his eye patch. Xander turned and looked at Spike who was still in game face.  
  
“Get in the shower!” Xander ordered.  
  
Spike just stared at Xander. Xander took a deep breath and then charged. He threw Spike’s body up against the wall of the shower and threw his arm over his chest pinning him to the wall.  
  
“When I give you an order,” Xander barked, “I expect you to follow it…Seventeen!”  
  
Spike tried to struggle but pain flared in his head. He snarled back at Xander, “Welcome home COUNCIL BOY!”  
  
Xander hid his flinch and pressed his body full against Spike. Xander’s cock began to swell despite the circumstances. It was pressed against Spike and swelling with need was a natural response to such stimuli.  
  
“Remember that first day aboard the  _DeSoto?_ ” Xander asked. “Remember what you did and how you asked if I liked knowing what it was like to be a thing?”   
  
Spike growled. Xander shoved him again.   
  
“I understand now, Seventeen. You taught me well and now it’s my turn to teach you a few things so listen up!”  
  
“Get off me!” Spike yelled.  
  
Xander shoved again and tried to plead Spike with his eye. “LISTEN! There’s nothing you do here that isn’t watched. You have no hope! I’m in control and it’s time I teach you a few lessons! I won’t be Riley’s buttmonkey because I was yours! DO! YOU! UNDERSTAND?”  
  
Xander’s breathing was labored and his grasp was strong, but he hoped his eye shone with his love and need for Spike to understand the situation. Spike finally stilled and looked at Xander. He really looked. One brown eye met a fierce yellow and for a moment there was silence.   
  
Then Spike relaxed somewhat and his game face slid away. Slowly he smiled the cocky grin Xander had first learned to hate and then learned to desperately love.  
  
“Ya think ya have the balls ta teach me something, boy?” Spike snarled.  
  
Xander held back a smile of his own but tilted his hips forward to rub his groin rudely into Spike’s. “I’ve been told I have balls of brass!”  
  
Spike snorted which sounded suspiciously like an aborted laugh. Then Spike looked deadly serious at Xander.   
  
“Then go ahead, Council Boy. Show me what ya got!”  
  
“I’ve got something to prove,” Xander snarled and tried to warn Spike.  
  
“Go ahead,  _luv,_ ” Spike taunted. ”Do your worst.”  
  
Xander snarled.  _I don’t know if I can do this, Spike!_  Xander thought even as he roughly spun Spike around and slammed him back into the wall. This time Xander pressed his hard cock into the cleft of Spike’s ass.  
  
“I intend to,” Xander growled.  
  
Spike closed his eyes and swallowed his own fear and old memories.  _This is Xan!_  He silently reminded himself.  _This is my pet._  Then Spike relaxed as much as he could allow.  
  
“Then do it,” Spike ground out. “I promise ya…ya won’t hurt me.  _YOU_  can’t!”  
  
Xander took a deep breath and then reached around Spike to flick on the shower cycle.  _Tears will get lost in the spray,_ Xander thought as he felt his eyes begin to water.


	37. (37/43 plus Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lt. “Xander” Harris and Captain William the Bloody have both suffered and lost in the on going war between the Biogens and Council. Now, Xander finds himself a prisoner of Captain William the Bloody (aka Spike). What will be Xander’s fate?

_Spike closed his eyes and swallowed his own fear and old memories._ This is Xan!  _He silently reminded himself._ This is my pet. _Then Spike relaxed as much as he could allow.  
  
“Then do it,” Spike ground out. “I promise ya…ya won’t hurt me. _YOU _can’t!”  
  
Xander took a deep breath and then reached around Spike to flick on the shower cycle. Tears will get lost in the spray, Xander thought as he felt his eyes begin to water.  
_  
Xander pressed his body closer to Spike and for a moment let the feel of Spike’s lean and strong body comfort him. Hot water poured down on their bodies. Xander let the water sluice over his skin warming him and covering his tears.  
  
Xander knew he and Spike were being watched. Xander knew he had to begin this horrible farce soon.  
  
Yet, Xander also knew what the small tremors racing across Spike’s skin meant. While it was small comfort Spike had given Xander his consent, Xander also knew their situation hadn’t given Spike much choice.   
  
Riley and Forrest needed to see Xander hurt Spike. Spike had to play along and follow Xander’s lead. Xander suppressed a shudder. The thought of hurting Spike caused Xander’s ‘interest’ to soften. Hurting Spike was not a turn on.  
  
Xander’s wilting didn’t go unnoticed by Spike.  
  
“ ‘S wot I thought,” Spike sneered. “Council Boys are all talk.”   
  
 _C’mon git,_  Spike thought.  _Get with it before they get bored or suspicious._  
  
Xander squeezed Spike’s arms.  _Message received, Oh Bossy one!_  Xander thought as he hid a small smile and growled. Once again Xander spun Spike around and slammed him into the wall.  
  
“I’m not doing all the work, Seventeen,” Xander said. “Get on your knees!”  
  
Spike shifted into game face, “Aren’t you afraid I’ll bite it off?”  
  
“Not in the least,” Xander answered honestly.  
  
Spike dropped to his knees and leaned forward.   _Boy’s definitely not enjoying this,_  Spike thought as he noted Xander’s failing cock.  _Gonna have to see what I can do about that or the yobs are never gonna buy this._  
  
Spike’s grip looked rougher than it was. It looked like it was just short of firing the chip, but in reality Spike concentrated on making a firm but gentle sheath. Spike stroked Xander until the blood was once again swelling his boy’s cock.   
  
Xander bit his lip as he felt his cock swell under Spike’s masterful touch. Xander needed this. He needed to feel he was still Spike’s pet.  
  
Spike took a brief moment to relish the feel of Xander and the smell of his arousal. Spike’s fears were close to the surface. The feel and scent of Xander’s need was Spike’s only shield against those dangerous emotions. When Spike felt the pearl drop of Xander’s seed rolling under his thumb he knew it was time to move on to the next step.  
  
“I’m not always gonna be chipped, Council Boy,” Spike growled. Then, before Xander could respond, Spike engulfed his boy’s length.  
  
Xander gasped and put his hands on the wall for support. The heat and feel of Spike around his penis was sudden and wonderful.   
  
“Biogen scum!” Xander hissed and thrust deeply into Spike’s hot and willing mouth.  
  
Spike didn’t miss a beat and continued his assault. Spike began teasing Xander’s cock with his fangs. Xander could feel their hard and pointy edges glide dangerously and sensuously over his thin and sensitive skin.   
  
Xander couldn’t help but continue to thrust.  _Ghods where did he learn that trick?_  Xander wondered. Briefly the image of Angel crossed his mind.  _Scratch that! Don’t need to know!_  
  
Spike concentrated on relaxing his throat. He wanted to laugh at his boy’s intense reaction.  _Gonna have to do this bit again,_  Spike internally vowed.  _Gonna chain him to the bed and tease every inch of him with my ivory points._  
  
Spike growled and the vibrations rocketed up Xander’s cock.  
  
“Fuck you!” Xander screamed then grabbed Spike’s head and thrust as deeply as he could down Spike’s throat.  _Spike, GHODS!!  
_  
Spike took as much as he could even as he fought the need to gag. Spike concentrated on breathing and sending more growling sounds up Xander’s cock.  
  
 _Still my pet,_ Spike thought.  _Still gonna make it good for you, Xan._  
  
“Cocksucker!” Xander yelled. Spike was driving him insane!   
  
Xander tightened his grip on Spike’s soft hair. Xander briefly used his fingers as a hairbrush and ran his hands through Spike’s wet locks. He relished its silk texture and the chance to offer his lover some gentleness. Then Xander shoved Spike back away from him. Xander was too close and he knew this wouldn’t be enough ‘proof’ for Riley.  
  
Xander stood struggling for breath and control. He could feel the need to shift into his own game face as well as his need to lie down and spread for Spike. Neither option was available.  
  
Instead, Xander stood in the shower spray breathing heavily with his hard and wet cock lording over Spike. Spike remained on his knees and in game face. He too was breathing heavily.  
  
 _He’s such a pretty pet, my beloved Xan,_ Spike thought as he gazed up at Xander.  
  
 _No matter what, I love you, Spike,_  Xander thought as he gazed down at his lover.  
  
“That it, Council Boy?” Spike rasped when he could finally catch a breath.  
  
Xander hid his wince at the sound of Spike’s coarse voice.  _Was I too rough?_  Xander worried.  
  
“That was just the warm-up,” Xander replied. “Get back on your feet and face the wall! I wouldn’t want you to miss the big finish!”  
  
“Didn’t feel like it posed much of a finish ta me,” Spike sneered as he got up.  _This is Xan,_  Spike mentally reminded himself as his stomach began to churn.  
  
“I promise, you’ll think differently when I’m creaming up your ass,” Xander answered.  _Oh Ghods! I’m sorry Spike!_ Xander thought.  
  
Spike didn’t have to fake the shudder that raced through him as he ‘assumed the position’.  _Do what you have to do, Xan,_ Spike silently ordered.  
  
Xander moved in close behind Spike. Once again he gripped Spike’s arms and squeezed.  _I’m so sorry, Spike,_ Xander silently cried.  
  
“Not so tough when it’s you catching? Are you, Seventeen?” Xander asked.  
  
“Tough enough to catch anything you pitch, Council Boy,” Spike replied.  
  
As the impending moment rushed towards them, Xander briefly panicked. He’d never done this before. He never expected to do this.  ** _How_** _do I do this?_  Xander wondered.  _I don’t want to hurt Spike!_  
  
Xander took a quick breath and let himself think of that tender first time with Spike. Spike had used lube and prepared Xander.   
  
 _How am I going to do that with out Riley and Forrest getting suspicious?_  Xander wondered.  
  
“Need to be shown how it’s done?” Spike sneered sensing Xander’s hesitation. “Shown again, that is.”  
  
“I learned plenty from you!” Xander snarled and reached for the soap. He slicked up a finger and parted Spike’s cheeks.  
  
Another shudder slammed through Spike.  _I can do this!_  Spike mentally screamed.  _It’s just Xan!_  
  
“I don’t want any of your filth to rub off on me,“ Xander said, as he circled Spike’s tight pucker with his soapy finger before beginning to breach the tight ring.  
  
Spike took a deep breath and tried to relax. He focused on the feel and smell of his pet.  _It’s Xander breaching me,_ Spike thought.  _That’s my pet’s hot and soapy finger sliding up into me._  
  
Xander went as slowly as he dared. The tight heat of Spike made him gasp. Xander pushed deeper with his finger and twisted it around in a circle.   
  
“First pitch,” Xander said. “Here comes the next one!”  
  
Xander pulled his finger back and then worked two fingers inside Spike. He tried to ignore Spike’s grunt. Once again Xander worked quickly, but as gently as he could, twisting his fingers around inside of his lover. Without meaning to Xander brushed his fingers over Spike’s sensitive nub.  
  
 _XAN!_  Spike mentally screamed as he gasped and his body reacted to his lover’s touch.  
  
”Sp…Something the matter, Seventeen?” Xander asked and then brushed the nub again.  _So that’s what the prostate feels like from the other side,_  Xander thought.  
  
“Fuck you!” Spike snarled.  _Oh pet, that felt good,_  Spike thought.  
  
“No,” Xander said as he jerked back his two fingers and then quickly worked three fingers inside Spike. “I believe it’s you that’s getting fucked this time.”  
  
Xander worked to stretch Spike’s hole while at the same time being sure to continue to stroke and tease Spike’s hidden nub. Xander could start to smell his lover’s arousal.  _I’m going to do what I can to make this good for you, Spike,_ Xander thought.  _Please, somehow, let me make this good for you._  
  
“Damn you, Council Boy!” Spike snarled as he slammed a fist into the wall.  _Xan! Pet! That feels fucking fantastic! You bloody git! I’m so gonna shag you silly when we get out of this!_  
  
“After you,” Xander replied as he pulled his fingers out of Spike.  
  
Xander then soaped up his dick as much as he could. He needed to be as slick as possible. Then he grabbed Spike’s ass cheeks and spread them wide.  
  
 “Batter up!”  
  
Then Xander closed his eyes as he shoved himself past Spike’s ring. Xander could feel the resistance give quickly under his brutal assault. Xander could also feel Spike’s sudden stiffening. Xander heard Spike’s gasp.  _Oh, Spike! Please forgive me!_ Xander silently cried.  
  
Spike once again slammed his fist into the wall. Later, Spike would have a brief moment of satisfaction when he noted the dent he left.   
  
“Arsewipe! Bag of shite!” Spike screamed.  
  
“Feels good, eh?” Xander asked as his heart broke.  
  
 _Oh pet,_  Spike thought as he noted the edge in Xander’s voice.  _Don’t worry. We’ll get through this._  
  
“That the best ya can do?” Spike sneered. “Best head back to kiddie leagues. Maybe that Riley bloke!”  
  
Xander bit back a laugh. Riley wasn’t half the man Spike was. He was definitely in the ‘kiddie leagues.’  
  
“Well I guess we’ll have to step this game up a bit then,” Xander said as he began to thrust in and out of Spike. Xander’s cock glided smoothly in Spike’s slick, hot channel.  _The circumstances suck,_  Xander thought,  _but the feeling is incredible!_  
  
“You know,” Xander said as he thrust deeply pressing against Spike’s sensitive nub, then reached around to take hold of Spike’s cock. “A game’s just not the same without an opponent to beat.”  
  
 _Bloody hell!_  Spike thought as the feel of Xander pressing into him while wrapping his hot slick hands around his cock sent him reeling.  _Don’t give us away, you soddin’ wonderful git!_  
  
“What ya think, Seventeen?” Xander asked as he continued to stroke and pump Spike. “Think this puny human can make you cum while taking it up the ass?”  
  
“Go ta hell!” Spike growled, even as all his blood rushed to his groin and he fought not to thrust back against Xander. “When I get out of this I’m coming for you, Xaaannnder.”  
  
“What makes you think you’re gonna get away?” Xander asked as once again he made sure to angle his thrusts against Spike’s prostate. “Hmm? Maybe I’ll ask Buffy for a favor? Maybe instead of killing you I’ll just ask her if I can have you for my pet!”  
  
Spike growled.  _Oh you cheeky git! I’m gonna tan yer arse!_  Spike thought as he panted and fought for control.  
  
“I’ll chain you to my bed,” Xander whispered and began to thrust faster even as he ran his thumb over Spike’s crown. “And every night I’ll ream this ass until all you can think about is being fucked. I’ll have you begging me for it!”  
  
 _Pet, yer gonna be gagged so ya **can’t**  beg for it and I’m gonna make you cum and cum and cum, _Spike thought briefly before his world went white, his eyes rolled back in his head and he came with a loud shout.  
  
Xander heard Spike’s yell and felt him tighten around Xander as he spasmed his relief. Xander bit back his own yell as he felt himself begin to thrust wildly into Spike’s silken and clenching flesh. Xander fought to keep from sliding into his game face while he rushed towards his own impending orgasm.   
  
 _SPIKE!_  Xander thought as he bit and scratched at Spike’s back while he fought to keep some control even as he was losing most of it.  _SPIKE! Oh Ghod! Spike I love you!_ Xander thought as his body climaxed and he felt his hot release pump into Spike.  
  
 _PET! XANDER!_ Spike thought as his body shook through its final throes of release even while it took Xander’s.  _I love you, too!_  
  
Slowly both men came down from their sexual high. Xander took the span of a heartbeat just to feel the warm connection between him and his lover. Xander risked another squeeze as he gripped Spike’s arms and then shoved him away hard enough that Spike hit the wall and fell.  
  
“Game over,” Xander said as he stared down at Spike.   
  
Spike twisted around to look at Xander.  “Just the first quarter pe…Council Boy. We’ve a long way to go before this  _game_  is finished.”  
  
“Well you’ll have to play it with someone else,” Xander said as he marched over to his clothes and began getting dressed. “I’m bored now.”  
  
“Not goin’ ta make me your pet after all?” Spike asked as he continued to sit on the floor and watch his boy getting dressed.  
  
“Nah, I don’t need a pet,” Xander said as he finished dressing and looked at Spike.  _I just need to **be**_ _a pet!_  Xander thought.  
  
Spike once again grinned cockily. He wasn’t a mind reader, but he knew in that moment Xander still needed him and most of all was still his pet.  
  
“Well I guess that means someone else will have to house break me,” Spike said.  
  
“NO,” Xander barked. “You are MINE. I’m personally seeing to it you get back to the ‘Dale to face Buffy. Whatever happens to you, Seventeen, I promise I’ll be there every step of the way!”  
  
Then Xander turned and stormed out of the bathroom leaving Spike sitting on the floor of the shower. Once he exited he locked the door behind him. Captain Finn and Sergeant Gates were waiting for him.  
  
“Enough proof for you?” Xander asked Riley.   
  
Gates sneered. Riley cocked an eyebrow and asked, “You going to have only the one go?”  
  
“One’s more than enough,” Xander spat.   
  
Riley nodded. “Sergeant Gates, please give Lieutenant Harris Seventeen’s controlling device.”  
  
“Sir!” Gates acknowledged before taking off the device and handing it to Xander.   
  
“Lieutenant Harris,” Riley said, “You have the prisoner.”  
  
“Good,” Xander replied. “Now, I want the security feed for this area pumped into my room’s vid viewer. I want to be able to monitor Seventeen at all times.”  
  
“Not going to do it  _personally_?” Gates asked.   
  
“You may like to do it with a toaster,” Xander said, “but I definitely prefer someone with a little humanity.”  
  
Riley smirked. Gates frowned.  
  
“Any other orders,  _sir_?” Gates asked.  
  
“Yes, I want Specialist Miller to be assigned to the brig to watch Seventeen when I’m not here.”  
  
“SIR!” Gates protested.  
  
“I promised the regent Seventeen would arrive back at the ‘Dale alive and in shape to be interrogated,” barked Xander. “That means I’m going to make sure no  _accidents_  happen!”  
  
“Sir?” Gates turned to Riley.  
  
“Lieutenant Harris is in charge of the prisoner, Sergeant Gates,” Riley replied. “Until he screws up. Be on standby.”  
  
“Yes, Sir!”   
  
“Thank you, sir,” Xander replied.  _You really are class A prick, Riley,_ Xander thought.   
  
“Now, I have a ship to run,” Riley said as he headed for the door of the brig. “Gates, you’re with me.”  
  
“Yes, Sir!” Gates replied as he followed Riley out the door and past Miller.  
  
 _Tinmen!_  Xander thought as he followed the two men to the door. Xander resisted the urge to go back into the bathroom area and check on Spike. He knew he couldn’t. He also knew he couldn’t visit with Spike either unless he wanted to go through the whole bathroom scene again.  _I can’t do that to Spike again!_ Xander thought.  _I won’t!_  
 _  
_When Riley and Forrest were out of sight, Xander turned to Specialist Miller.  
  
“Miller,” Xander said.  
  
“Yes, Sir!” Miller replied.  
  
“You are now in charge of Seventeen when I’m not here. I want you to check on him often. If there are any problems, let me know.”  
  
“Sir?” Miller asked a bit confused.  
  
“The regent has put me in charge of Seventeen. He’s got an active chip, so he is no threat. I want you to see he gets food, water and regular access to the toilet area. The security feed from the brig will be fed into my quarter’s vid viewer.”  
  
“An ‘active chip’, sir?”  
  
 _Well I guess I wasn’t the only one on the clueless bus about the chip, until recently,_  Xander thought.  _How common knowledge is the chip? And why did Riley and Forrest know about it and have access to it?_  
  
”It’s a control device,” Xander explained. “If Seventeen attempts to harm you, he’ll experience big pain: mind numbing, body rending and gut spilling pain.”  
  
“Sir?” Miller asked, still somewhat confused.   
  
“Trust me,” Xander said.  
  
“Yes, Sir!” Miller said as he saluted Xander.   
  
“Mi…Graham,” Xander said. “At ease. Just help me see that Seventeen makes it to the ‘Dale alive and healthy. I’ll make sure to pass the good word on to the Regent Prime.”  
  
Graham smiled. “Yes, sir.”  
  
Xander smiled and saluted Graham. Then he turned and headed back to his cabin.  _It’s just a little ways,_  Xander thought, _then I can fall apart in the privacy of my bugged quarters_... _not._    
  
 _Spike,_  Xander thought.  _I want to go home. Promise me when we get out of this we’ll go home, back to the_ DeSoto.


	38. (38/43 plus Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lt. “Xander” Harris and Captain William the Bloody have both suffered and lost in the on going war between the Biogens and Council. Now, Xander finds himself a prisoner of Captain William the Bloody (aka Spike). What will be Xander’s fate?

_“Mi…Graham,” Xander said. “At ease. Just help me see that Seventeen makes it to the ‘Dale alive and healthy. I’ll make sure to pass the good word on to the Regent Prime.”  
  
Graham smiled. “Yes, sir.”  
  
Xander smiled and saluted Graham. Then he turned and headed back to his cabin. _ It’s just a little ways, _Xander thought,_ then I can fall apart in the privacy of my bugged quarters...not _.  
  
_ Spike, _Xander thought._ I want to go home. Promise me when we get out of this we’ll go home, back to the  _DeSoto_.  
  
***  
  
Faith paced. They had been on Inara for three days. They were at the Ankara Health Facility; the best facility on the colony. Wesley had been wheeled away from the  _Desoto_  crew as soon as they’d entered the facility. They were still waiting to see him.  
  
“The doctor said the prognosis is good,” Fred said to the pacing ex-Regent. “He’s stabilized and they're waiting to see if the SC graft takes.”  
  
“Yeah!” Faith scoffed. “So good we can’t see him?”  
  
“He’s sedated, Faith…”  
  
“Don’t tell me that makes a difference!” Faith paused her pacing and whirled around to face her crewmate. “We both know he’d know we were there! He NEEDS to know we’re there.”  
  
“C’mon girl,” Gunn put himself between Faith and Fred. “You know he knows we’re here.”  
  
Faith looked at Gunn and then resumed pacing. “Does he?” she muttered.  
  
Gunn sighed and cast Fred a supportive look. The thin woman looked gaunter than usual and her eyes bore the dark rings of little sleep.   
  
“He does,” a quiet but firm voice interrupted.  
  
Three pairs of eyes swiveled to face the door to the small private waiting area. Angel filled the space like a shadow across the sun. There was a simmering fury radiating out from his hard body. Anyone else might have backed up from that inner rage lest they got burned, but the  _DeSoto_  crew wasn’t ‘anyone.’ They soaked up the heat from that rage and let it warm their numb spirits.   
  
Fred rushed over and threw all of her weight against Angel and wrapped her arms tightly around him. “Angel!” she sighed into his chest. Angel returned the fierce hug and looked over Fred’s shoulder to peer at Faith. A small amount of tension eased from Faith’s shoulders and she nodded at the older man.  
  
“Boss,” Gunn said and moved forward to shake Angel’s hand as soon as Fred was ready to release him.  
  
Fred gave Angel another hug and then let him go. She stepped back away from him so he could enter the room. Angel crossed the threshold and shook Gunn’s hand.   
  
“What happened?” Angel asked.  
  
“We were jumped,” Faith spat. She wanted to pound something; pound something so hard it cracked the rage and fear that kept her rigid and on edge.   
  
“I need more, Faith,” Angel said as gently as his own emotional control would allow.  
  
“The fuckin’ council was there waiting for us!” Faith barked. “Wes was shot, Spike was captured and Xander’s gone! What else do you need to know?”  
  
“Was it a trap?” Angel asked as he turned to Gunn.   
  
“Don’t know,” Gunn answered.  
  
“Were they waiting specifically for you or just…?”  
  
“Don’t know,” Gunn answered again.  
  
“We landed,” Fred began. “Spike, Faith, Gunn, Wes and Xander went to investigate. Not too long after they entered the colony Spike detected the council presence…”  
  
“You didn’t detect any signs before?” Angel interrupted.  
  
“There were some energy anomalies but nothing conclusive. Spike decided to proceed with the mission.”  
  
_Taught ya bettern’ that boy!_  Angelus snarled deep inside of Angel.  _Gonna spill blood ta get ya back and then I’m gonna spill **yer**  blood for gettin caught! Yer MINE! Ya don’t have the right to risk yerself!_  
  
“So what happened?” Angel asked.  
  
“Spike ordered us back to the ship,” Faith said. “He lay down cover and we retreated. During the retreat Wes…,” Faith stopped as her throat closed.  _Oh ghods!_  She thought.  _The blood! Wes’s blood pouring out all over me!_  
  
“Wes was shot,” Faith managed to grind out. “We got to cover. Ordered Fred to bring the ship in hot. That’s when…when…”  
  
Faith choked again.  _I left my captain! I left Spike! FUCK!_  
  
“Council boy noticed Spike wasn’t with us,” Gunn said.  
  
“Don’t you fuc...Don’t you say that, Charles!” Fred yelled as she whirled around to glare at Gunn. “He’s not a ‘Council boy’! He’s one of us! He’s part of the  _DeSoto!_ ”  
  
Gunn had enough grace to flush and look at the floor. “I didn’t mean…”  
  
“I don’t care what you meant!” Fred interrupted. “Don’t ever use that pejorative about Xander again.”  
  
“What happened after you noticed Spike was gone?” Angel asked.  
  
“Xander saw he’d been cut off,” Faith said.  
  
“And?” Angel prompted.  
  
“Wes was dying, Angel! We were outnumbered and…” Once again Faith’s inner turmoil kept the words from coming out. Angel stepped forward and laid his hands gently on Faith’s shoulders.  
  
“Faith, please, tell me what happened. I need to know,” Angel said.  
  
Faith raised her head and met Angel’s intent gaze. “Xander saw that Spike was down and surrounded. He knew Wes was hit bad. He told us to get Wes back to the ship and get out of there. He said… He said…”  
  
Faith bit her lip as a tear escaped her control and slid down her cheek. “He  _promised_  to get Spike back Angel. He said he couldn’t leave him and he wouldn’t. He promised on Jesse’s memories he’d bring Spike back.”  
  
Faith tried not to wince as Angel instinctively clenched his hands.  _Spike! Xander! The Council!_  Angel’s thoughts were chaotic. The Angelus side of him screamed for blood and vengeance. He wanted to raze every Council colony and stronghold. Angelus wanted bile and tears to flow in equal amounts to the blood he wanted to spill. Angel just wanted Spike back.   
  
_Please, Xander,_  Angel thought,  _bring him back._  
  
Faith tried to ignore the pain of Angel’s grip.  _I deserve this,_  she thought. However, a small gasp escaped her control.  
  
Angel immediately focused back on the former Regent at the small sound. He relaxed his grip and gave Faith a small smile. He moved a hand from her shoulder to gently grasp her chin.  
  
“It’s ok,” Angel whispered. “You did good. Wes is alive and the rest of the crew is safe. Spike wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.”  
  
Tears started to flow down Faith’s cheeks and then she wrapped herself around Angel. Angel held Faith tight and let her tears soak the front of his shirt.   
  
_Spike!_  Angel thought.  _Come back; they need you. **I**  need you._  
  
***  
  
Xander watched the security vid. They were one more day out from the ‘Dale. So far things had gone better than Xander had hoped.  
  
_Except for that near ‘rape’ thing,_  Xander thought and fought the tears that welled in his eyes.  _I’m sure Spike could have done without that whole scene._  
  
Xander watched Spike take his tray from Graham.   
  
“Anythin’ good t’day?” Spike asked.   
  
“Not so much,” Graham confessed. “More protein bars and water.”  
  
“Hats off ta the cook,” Spike said with a jaunty smile before grabbing one of the bars. “Reminds me of my own cook. Silly wanker!”  
  
Xander smiled.  _Wanker! That nixes the breakfast in bed idea I had,_ Xander thought.  
  
***  
  
Xander thought about how it had taken him a day to figure out just how to arrange some sort of communication between Spike and himself. Xander had desperately needed that communication.  
  
Xander’s guilt over the way he’d been forced to treat Spike had been overwhelming. He’d had to find some way to know if Spike was really ok besides just watching the security vids hours on end.   
  
Xander hadn’t dared to see Spike again. He hadn’t dared to try and get a message to him. Xander focused on attending every scheduled and impromptu briefing Riley demanded. Xander focused on keeping his voice hard, his words hateful, and his heart from completely shattering.   
  
Xander had even forced himself to keep his vid viewing to ‘reasonable’ hours. Xander may have been a ‘Donut Boy’ but he wasn’t foolish enough to underestimate Riley. Xander knew Captain Finn was still suspicious and Sergeant Gates was waiting for another chance to ‘look after Spike.’  
  
It was on the second day around lunch time, the second day of watching Spike staring at his walls, when Xander had thought of something.  As quickly as he dared Xander made his way down to the brig. Xander had wanted to make Miller part of his plan instead of the night guard, Specialist Larry Blaisdell.   
  
Xander had known Blaisdell wasn’t as tough as the hulkish man liked to think he was, but he was loyal to the chain of command and to Riley. Blaisdell would have double checked any orders from Xander with Riley.  _And that would tip Finn off,_  Xander thought.  
  
_“If we’d have treated you solely like a prisoner and locked you in the hatch, how batty do you think you’d be by now?”_  Spike had asked Xander that question once and on his way to see Graham those words haunted Xander.  
  
What Xander had had in mind wouldn’t only give Spike a way to communicate with Xander, it would also help keep him from going ‘batty.’  
  
Graham had smartly saluted Xander as soon as he’d seen Xander’s approach.  
  
“At ease,” Xander had ordered as he’d smiled at Graham.  
  
“Sir?” Graham had asked.  
  
“How’s the prisoner?” Xander had asked.  
  
“Well, sir.”  
  
“I’ve been watching the feeds. As far as I can tell, he hasn’t said anything. That true?”  
  
“Yes, sir,” Graham had answered.  
  
“You ever watch crime vids?” Xander had asked.  
  
“Sir?” Graham had answered obviously confused.  
  
“You know, the whole ‘good cop…bad cop’ routine?”  
  
“In theory, sir.”  
  
“Well Seventeen’s had the ‘bad cop,’” Xander said.  _Bad cop!_ Xander thought and suppressed the shudder that had threatened to race through him at the memory of what he’d done to Spike in the shower.  
  
“Sir?”  
  
“I want you to ‘talk’ to Seventeen,” Xander had said.  
  
“Talk, sir?”  
  
“Yeah, you know, ask him how he’s doing. Is the food ok? You know ‘talk.’”  
  
“Talk.” Graham repeated, the light of confusion still burning in his eyes.  
  
“Develop a rapport with him,” Xander had tried to explain again. “Make him think he can trust you.”  
  
“But why, sir?”  
  
“If he thinks you’re no threat maybe he’ll relax his guard. Maybe let something slip,” Xander had said.  
  
Graham had then begun to slowly smile and then nodded.  
  
“Yes, sir,” Graham had said, finally getting it. “Talk. I can do that, sir.”  
  
Xander had returned Graham’s smile. “Good.”  
  
_And maybe, Specialist Miller,_ Xander had thought,  _you’ll find Biogens aren’t so bad after all. Well, that is if Bossy doesn’t talk back too much. Then you’d probably just want to kill him based on the arrogance factor alone._  
  
“I’ll monitor your progress,” Xander had said.  
  
“Yes, sir!” Graham had saluted. Xander had returned the salute and then had gone back to his quarters.  
  
Xander had watched Graham the next time he’d entered the brig to give Spike his ‘toilet break.’  
  
“Time for the head,” Graham had said as he’d entered the brig and looked at Spike.   
  
Spike had stared up at Graham in confusion.  _Council prat’s never spoken to me before?_  Spike had thought.  
  
“Seventeen?” Graham had asked as he waited for Spike to get to his feet.  
  
Spike had slowly gotten to his feet and had kept his eye on Miller.  
  
“Thought you might like to use the head before lunch,” Miller had explained as he made his way over to unlock and open the door to the bathroom.  
  
Spike strained to listen for any sounds of ‘backup’ or ambush.  
  
“Seventeen?” Graham had said with a bit of annoyance edging into his voice. “You need to use the toilet or not?”  
  
“Might like to wash up a bit,” Spike had finally answered as he cautiously moved forward towards the open lavatory door.  
  
“Good,” Graham had answered and waited for Spike.   
  
Spike had entered the room and looked around.   _No surprises,_  Spike had thought before quickly heading over to the loo to do his business. He’d long ago lost inhibitions at relieving himself in front of others. That had been a good thing because Graham had always watched Spike.   
  
_Used to think the git was a bleedin’ perv,_  Spike had thought,  _now I know he’s just a goody-two shoes soldier boy who follows orders to the letter._    
  
Spike had bit back a laugh at the thought of Graham always watching him.  _Can tell the git is uncomfortable and it’s pointless, Xan had made a point of tellin’ me I’m watched at all times._  
  
That’s when the thought had hit him. Spike had almost smiled again. Instead he washed his hands and headed back out to the cell area where Graham was waiting.   
  
“Yer a might talkative t’day,” Spike had said to Graham as the solider once again keyed the head door shut.  
  
“Well…y…you know,” Graham had stuttered. “Bored and all.”  
  
“Rather make time with a Biogen?” Spike had asked and didn’t miss the flush that crept up Graham’s neck.  
  
“Not like either of us have anything better to do,” Graham had answered. Spike longed for a smoker. It would have been good to light one up just before he smiled at Graham.  
  
“None of your solider boys keep ya company down here when yer on watch?”  
  
“Not really,” Graham had answered.  
  
“So ya decided out of boredom ya’d just wot?” Spike had asked as he sauntered back to the corner where he liked to sit. “Ya’d just want to have a chat?”  
  
“Well it’s not like you have anything else on your calendar,” Graham had snapped.  
  
Spike had laughed.   
  
“Know what I think?” Spike had asked with a lifted eyebrow. “I think someone’s put ya up to this. Ya know, schmooze the prisoner?”  
  
At that point Xander had groaned silently while watching in his room.  _Way to go Blondie! Just blow my idea!_  
  
“Nn..no!” Graham had stuttered while his excited heartbeat hadn’t gone undetected by Spike. “Just thought…bored you know?”  
  
_Really wish I had a smoker,_  Spike had thought. Spike had smiled again and thought,  _I’m on ta ya, pet. Yer sittin back somewhere watchin’ and ya put this bloke up ta talkin ta me cuz ya wanna know if I’m all right._  
  
“No worries, mate,” Spike had finally said. “I’d talk either way. A person could go batty locked away with no one ta talk to.”  
  
Graham had smiled in relief and so had Xander.  
  
_I love you, Spike!_  Xander had thought.  
  
“So wot ya want to talk about?” Spike had asked.   
  
“Uh…well,” Graham had floundered. He hadn’t really known what to talk about; though Lieutenant Harris had made a few suggestions. “How are you doing?”  
  
Spike fought not to laugh again.  _This bloke’s not very good at this._  
  
“I’m fine. Could do with better accommodations and décor, but I’m good.”  
  
_Hear that, pet?_  Spike had thought.  _Now stop fretting and concentrate on keeping your pretty little arse from ending up down here alongside me. Want ya safe and sound._  
  
Xander had smiled watching the exchange and had vowed once again to get Spike out of this. Graham had smiled too; relieved to be following orders.  
  
Xander refocused on the present. He watched the current exchange between Spike and Graham.  
  
“Well, you won’t have to worry about the cooking much longer,” Graham said to Spike.   
  
Spike cocked an eyebrow, “Oh?”  
  
“We’ll be reaching the ‘Dale tomorrow,” Graham had said somewhat softly.  
  
“Made good time,” Spike observed and noted Graham’s slight flush.  
  
“Look, Seventeen,” Graham began, “don’t give them a reason…I mean just…”  
  
“What, Miller?” Spike prompted.  
  
“Don’t make it worse than it has to be,” Graham had finally spit out.  
  
_Soldier boy ain’t so bad after all,_ Spike thought.  
  
_Knew you were a good guy,_  Xander thought.  
_  
_ “Not really up ta me now is it?” Spike replied.  
  
“Nah, it’s just…”  
  
“Listen soldier boy,” Spike snarled.  _Don’t want this bloke ta get in trouble for going soft on me._  “We’ve just been passing time here. We meet in battle and all of this…”  
  
“Doesn’t mean shit,” Graham said straightening his shoulders and meeting Spike’s eyes.  
  
Spike smiled and nodded. “Now get along and let me eat in peace.”  
  
Graham hid a smirk and retreated to the other side of the door.  
  
“Soddin’ soldier boys,” Spike muttered. “Too soft-hearted for this war.”  
  
Xander smiled.  _One more day, love, then this softy goes for broke._


	39. (39/43 plus Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lt. “Xander” Harris and Captain William the Bloody have both suffered and lost in the on going war between the Biogens and Council. Now, Xander finds himself a prisoner of Captain William the Bloody (aka Spike). What will be Xander’s fate?

__Spike smiled and nodded. “Now get along and let me eat in peace.”  
  
Graham hid a smirk and retreated to the other side of the door.  
  
“Soddin’ soldier boys,” Spike muttered. “Too soft-hearted for this war.”  
  
Xander smiled._ One more day, love, then this softy goes for broke.  
  
***  
  
_

Xander didn’t recall the exact sequence of events when the  _Snyder_  arrived in orbit around the ‘Dale. Although he did remember that was when the security feed to Spike’s cell was cut.  It was also when Graham showed up at Xander’s door.  
  
“Captain Finn has ordered me to be your ‘escort’ until you are ‘turned over’ to the Regent,” Graham had announced.  
  
“What about Sp…Seventeen?” Xander had asked, trying to keep the panic from his voice.   
  
“Gates has been reassigned back to guarding Seventeen,” Graham had said.  
  
Xander hadn’t wasted any time questioning Graham further.  
  
“Finn!” Xander had barked into his communicator.  
  
“Lieutenant Harris,” Riley had coolly replied.  
  
“What is going on? Why have you…”  
  
“My orders were to put you in charge of the prisoner until we reached the ‘Dale,” Riley had interrupted. “We have reached the ‘Dale and per my new orders Seventeen is to be transferred to the Revello holding area and you are to be escorted to Dr. Maclay’s office for evaluation.”  
  
“Why wasn’t I told about these or…?”  
  
“It was on a need to know ba…”  
  
“And I didn’t need to know,” Xander had interrupted before snapping off his communicator. Then Xander had looked at the chip controller on his wrist.  _Spike!_  Xander had thought.  
  
“Disabled, sir,” Graham had said, noticing Xander’s gaze. “However Seventeen was fine when I left.”  
  
Xander had focused his gaze on Graham. Graham had returned the gaze. Then Xander had nodded.   
  
“Thanks,” Xander had said.  
  
All those things had happened an hour ago. It had been an hour of nervous pacing by Xander. It had also been an awkward and silent game of ‘Don’t ask and Don’t tell’ between Graham and Xander while they waited.   
  
Then the hour had finally turned into the chaotic ‘now’ of Xander fidgeting in the hold of the  _Snyder_  waiting for the great bay doors to open. Xander was flanked by Finn and Miller. Xander didn’t care.  
  
Xander knew without needing to play head games with Finn, asking Miller or even using Biogen senses that his friends were on the other side of those metal doors. Xander knew his friends were waiting as impatiently for him as he was for them.  
  
Xander fought the tears of joy at the reality that Buffy and  Willow  were just a few meters away. Once again he could hug, laugh and cry with ‘his girls.’ For the moment, Xander was willing to push back his fear for Spike to just bask in the joy of the impending reunion.  
  
The doors began to slowly part. Xander focused all his enhanced senses on the widening part.   
  
“XAAAANNNNNDDEERRR!”  Willow ’s screech bounded into the bay before her slim figure was fully revealed.  
  
Xander smiled wide and braced himself for the impending  Willow  missile. A few centimeters more and the redheaded weapon of mass delight launched and burst into the bay.  
  
“WILLS!”  Xander cried as he wrapped his arms around his best friend and buried his face in the crook of her neck. Xander breathed deep the comforting smell of lavender and sage he always associated with the Council’s most powerful Cyber-mage.   
  
“I’d say this means the chocolate and snack fest is a definite go,” Buffy said with a laugh and a smile as she quickly strode into the bay and over to Xander.  
  
“BUF!” Xander smiled and pulled an arm free from his  Willow  embrace to make room for the Regent Prime.  
  
Buffy took advantage of the opening and Xander wrapped his arm around her. Xander hugged his girls tightly; barely remembering to keep his new strength in check.   
  
Riley’s smart salute was completely ignored as the three friends hugged, cried, laughed and babbled all at once.  
  
“I missed you!”  
  
“Don’t scare us like that again!”  
  
“Are you ok?”  
  
“Did you let your hair grow?”  
  
“I love you.”  
  
“Is that a new outfit?”

The Regent Prime’s Watcher, Giles, walked into the bay and nodded to Riley. Riley and Graham lowered their arms and stood at ease. Giles continued on toward the single mass of babble that was the Regent’s inner circle.  
  
“Xander,” Giles said in his clipped voice thick with formal warmth.  
  
“Tweed-man,” Xander replied with a strained smile.  _Who are you really?_  Xander thought.  _Where do your loyalties really lie?_  
  
“Well at least something has changed,” Giles said once again dismissing Xander’s odd attitude to the overwhelming circumstances. “Although I can’t say ‘Tweed-man’ is an improvement.”  
  
“Just keeping you on your toes,” Xander said while briefly untangling an arm from Buffy to offer Giles his hand.   
  
Giles smiled and took the offered hand. “Good to have you back, Xander.”  
  
 _Is it?_ Xander wondered.  _Will you still think so when I give the 411 and call for 911?_  
  
“Good to be back,” Xander only partially lied.  _Good to see the girls, bad to be and love a Biogen in downtown Council territory,_  Xander thought.   
  
“ Tara !”  Willow  suddenly shouted.  
  
“Where?” Xander asked as he scanned the bay for  Willow ’s wife.   
  
“Not here!”  Willow  babbled. “I mean she’s here in the ‘Dale of course but not here in the bay…”  
  
“Well that’s a relief. Thought you were going to tell me you’d invented a cloak of invisibility,” Xander teased.  
  
“Give her time,” Buffy chuckled.  
  
“No!”  Willow  laughed. Xander soaked up the sound. “ Tara ’s waiting in her office.”  
  
“I’ll have Specialist Miller here escort the pr… Lieutenant Harris to Dr. Maclay’s office,” Riley interjected.   
  
Buffy waved her hand, smiled and said, “That won’t be necessary Riley. I think I’ll give Xander the ‘official’ escort.”  
  
“But…”  
  
“Captain Finn,” Giles said diplomatically. “I’m sure that Lieutenant Harris will arrive safe and sound at Dr. Maclay’s office while being escorted by the Regent Prime and the chief Cyber-mage.”   
  
Riley had the grace to flush. Graham had the sense to hide a smirk.  
  
“Sir! Yes, sir!” Riley had snapped and smartly saluted.  
  
“At ease,” Buffy said and untangled herself from Xander. She crossed over to Riley, stood on her tip-toes and kissed Riley’s cheek. “Thanks for bringing him home to us, Riley.”   
  
 _Well there goes my appetite,_  Xander thought.   
  
“Yes, thank you!”  Willow  chirped.  
  
“Well while we’re on the ‘Thank you’ wagon I’d like to thank Specialist Miller,” Xander said and pointed to Graham. Buffy and  Willow  turned to look where Xander pointed. “He helped me immensely in guarding Seve... the prisoner.”   
  
Buffy and  Willow  stiffened at the reference to Spike but they shone warm eyes at Graham. Buffy walked over to him and offered him her hand. Graham blushed and shook her offered hand.  
  
“Thank you, Specialist Miller,” Buffy said.  
  
“You’re welcome ma’am,” Graham replied and looked at Xander. Xander nodded his head slightly.  _Thank you,_  Xander thought.  
  
Then  Willow ’s communicator chimed.   
  
“W..w..willow,”  Tara ’s voice filtered through the electronics, “are you g…going to bring my p..patient to my office any t..time soon or are you g…going to..be sleeping all alone on the c..couch for the next f..five orbital days?”  
  
“Xander! Office! March!”  Willow  quickly ordered and began pushing Xander toward the bay doors. Buffy and Xander laughed and allowed the little redhead to herd them out and off the  _Snyder_. Giles followed closely behind cleaning his glasses and watching Xander.  
  
***  
  
Faith held Wesley’s hand and stared at the sleeping man’s face. It had been almost a week since she’d last seen his warm blue eyes or his wide grin.  
  
“C’mon,” Faith urged. “That’s enough sleeping. Time to get up! We’ve got work to do!”  
  
“Still out of it?” Angel asked the obvious as he entered the room and shut the door.  
  
“Yeah,” Faith answered not bothering to turn around and look at the big Biogen. “Doc said he should be coming around by now but he’s just being stubborn. You know Wes. Does things on his own schedule.”  
  
“Usually he has a good reason,” Angel offered.  
  
“Yeah, with Wes it’s not arbitrary,” Faith said bitterly.   
  
“Faith,” Angel sighed. “It wasn’t an arbitrar…”  
  
“It wasn’t?” Faith snapped as she turned to face Angel. “If Spike was doing the nasty with Wes would you have brought the…”  
  
“Faith!” Angel growled. “You know that had nothing to do with…”  
  
“Didn’t it?” Faith accused. “You have the means to make him better right now. You could give him ‘ _the stuff_ ’ and in a couple of days he’d be awake, whole and able to do a lap dance if he wanted! Fred’s all set to go!”  
  
“And maybe like Xander he’d be in the hands of the Council a short time later!”  
  
“We don’t know those two things are related!” Faith hissed.  
  
“We don’t know they’re not!”  
  
“Gunn showed you the wolf’s head button! The Raiders were responsible for the massacre.”  
  
“Well it’s not the Raiders who have Xander and Spike.”   
  
“And that’s the arbitrary that keeps you from helping Wes!”  Faith yelled.  
  
 _Break the bitch!_  Angelus hissed too close to the surface. Angel forced his game face back.  
  
“I’m not risking another person falling into Council hands.”  
  
“You mean  _Biogen_ ,” Faith said.  
  
“I mean  _person_ ,” Angel said. “We don’t know the word hasn’t already gotten out and we can’t risk…”  
  
“WE can’t risk WES!”  
  
“Doesn’t anyone want to know what Wes thinks?” a groggy voice whispered.  
  
“WES!” Faith shouted and spun back around to look at her former Watcher.  
  
“Please, Faith,” Wes said quietly, “no more shouting.”  
  
“Are you ok?” Faith frantically whispered. “Do you need a doctor?”  
  
“I presume, since I appear to be in a hospital, that the answer to those questions would be no and yes; respectively.”  
  
“You presume correctly,” Angel said with a smile as he walked over to Wes’s other side.  
  
“I’ll get the Doc,” Faith said as she moved to head for the door. A weak grasp around her wrist stopped her.  
  
“Wes?” Faith asked.  
  
“I want you to listen to me,” Wes said softly to his former charge.   
  
Faith nodded.  
  
“I’m not sure why you think I need the same ‘treatment’ as Xander,” Wes said, “but I am sure of this, I don’t want it.”  
  
“Wes…”  
  
“Listen! I have lived and worked among Biogens. There’s a lot I presume about Biogens and there’s a lot I’m learning. There’s a lot  _Angel’s_  still learning. The one thing I do  _know_  is that I don’t want to be one,” Wes said.  
  
“But Wes…”  
  
“Faith,” Wes said once again interrupting the dark haired Regent, “I don’t want that… power. Please.”  
  
Wes then turned to look at Angel.  _I don’t want that responsibility,_  Wes’s eyes said to Angel. Angel nodded. Wes smiled and then turned back to Faith.  
  
“Promise me?”  
  
“Only you if you promise to get better and stick around for a long looooong time,” Faith said.  
  
Wes grinned. “I promise.”  
  
“I’ll get the doctor,” Angel offered. “You stay here and keep him awake.”  
  
Faith nodded.  
  
Angel walked to the door and was half way out when he heard Faith say, “I’m sorry.”  
  
“Forget it,” Angel said and then headed out to meet the doctor that Angel was sure was already on his way, alerted by the bio-sensors hooked up to Wes.  
  
***  
  
“X…xander,”  Tara  said as she hugged him.  Tara  had been waiting in her office lobby for the reunited group.  
  
“ Tara ,” Xander answered and smiled as he hugged her back.   
  
“I’ve got the exam t..table all s..set up,” she said as she released him and led him to the exam room. Xander turned and looked at Buffy, Giles and  Willow . He smiled and followed  Tara  into the small and private room.   
  
“There’s a gown,”  Tara  pointed to the gown folded neatly on the table. “I’ll g..give you a few minutes to ch..change and then come back,”  Tara  said as she moved toward the door.  
  
“Wait,  Tara ,” Xander said as he picked up the gown and looked around the room.  _I can’t hide the changes from her and I can’t avoid an exam any longer._  
  
“X..xander?”  Tara  asked.   
  
“How…well how confidential is this exam?”  
  
“Xander,”  Tara  said softly. “I’m your doctor at this moment. You have…w..we have doctor patient confidentiality.”  
  
“And that’s of the good,” Xander tried again. “What if you found out something about me…something you thought Buffy and  Willow  needed to know?”  
  
Tara  moved toward Xander cautiously and looked at him earnestly, “Xander, whatever happened to you…I don’t have to give Buffy or W..willow all the d..details. But I do have to d…document any injuries or…”  
  
“It’s not that,” Xander interrupted. “I’m fine. Really! I’m great. I’m better than great.”  
  
“Xander?”  Tara  asked reaching out to touch her friend. “Not only is it pr..procedure to do an exam on you but as your d..doctor and f…friend I insist.”  
  
Xander looked around the room. He knew that it was Council practice to bug many places and many things.  _Security!_ Xander thought.  _Yeah! Keep the people secure in the Council’s lies and find out if any of them are on to the truth!_  
  
“ Tara ,” Xander asked. “Is this room secure?”  
  
Tara  narrowed her eyes and said, “I d..don’t understand.”  
  
“Tell me honestly,” Xander said. “Is this room bugged?”  
  
Xander listened for the tell-tale heartbeat and increased respiration. All he heard was  Tara ’s confused sigh.  
  
“X..Xander?”  
  
“ Tara , can you ask Buffy and  Willow  to come in here?’  
  
“You want Buffy and  Willow  here when I d…do my exam?”  
  
“Please, I just…” Xander paused for a moment and pictured Spike. Xander thought of his lover’s bright happy eyes and Gates’ hate filled dark eyes.  
  
“I need to tell you all something and I only want to do it once,” Xander finally said.  
  
Tara  looked at Xander and asked, “Are y..you s..sure?”  
  
Xander nodded.   
  
“I’ll g…go get them,”  Tara  said and slipped out the door.   
  
Xander closed his eyes, took a deep breath and thought of Spike.  
  
 _I promise._ Xander thought.  _One way or another, we will be together._


	40. (40/43 plus Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lt. “Xander” Harris and Captain William the Bloody have both suffered and lost in the on going war between the Biogens and Council. Now, Xander finds himself a prisoner of Captain William the Bloody (aka Spike). What will be Xander’s fate?

__“I’ll g…go get them,”__ _ _Tara__ _ _said and slipped out the door.  
  
Xander closed his eyes, took a deep breath and thought of Spike._  
  
I promise.  _Xander thought._  One way or another, we will be together.  
  
***  
  
_Gates’ face hadn’t been a welcome sight for Spike; but not an unexpected one. Spike had sensed a change was up when Graham hadn’t been by to give him a toilet break and Spike had suspected the change wasn’t for the good.  
  
 _Figured the wanker would be back_ , Spike had thought when Gates entered the cell.  _Just please be ‘cuz he can’t get enough of my charm and not ‘cuz Xan has gone and done somethin’ stupid and heroic._  
  
“Miss me?” Spike had said with a grin.   
  
“Like a pimple on my ass,” Gates had sneered before delivering a hard and painful backhand slap across Spike’s face.  
  
Spike had reeled but kept his feet under him.  
  
“Losin’ yer touch, mate,” Spike had grinned.  
  
“Ya Think?” Gates had asked then pressed the button on his wrist device.  
  
Pain had flared down Spike’s spine and branched out to his extremities. Spike’s stomach rebelled and he had fallen to his knees disgorging the last meal Graham had brought him.   
  
“You may be right, Seventeen,” Gates had mused. “Maybe I lost my ‘touch.’ Guess I’ll just have to practice more.”  
  
Once again Gates had activated the chip in Spike’s head. Once again pain sizzled through Spike’s body and once again Spike had fallen unconscious in the clutches of the enemy.  
  
***  
  
Xander heard his friends approach before the tentative knock on the exam room door.  _Ready or not,_  Xander thought,  _here they come._  
  
“Yeah,” Xander answered.  
  
The door eased open and Willow poked her head inside.  
  
“Tara said you wanted us here with you?” Willow asked softly giving Xander the chance to change his mind.  
  
Xander smiled.  _I do love you, Wills,_ he thought.  _No matter what happens, I will always love you._  
  
“Yeah, Willow,” Xander said. “I do.”  
  
Willow returned Xander’s smile and opened the door wide. She stepped into the small exam room followed by Tara and Buffy.   
  
“Giles!” Xander said as the Watcher started to step through door after Buffy. The Watcher halted at Xander’s exclamation.  
  
“Xander?” Giles asked a bit perplexed and perhaps abashed. “I thought…I assumed…would you like me to wait in the other room?”  
  
 _Depends, Giles,_  Xander thought as he studied the man he’d always considered more of a father than a ‘father figure.’  _Are you here because you care or because you need to know if your Donut Boy is now Clue Boy?_  
  
“Nah,” Xander said. “Wouldn’t be the ‘Three Musketeers’ without you.”  
  
“I see your math hasn’t improved,” Buffy gently chided while smiling.  
  
“Well, point of fact,” Giles said as he entered the room and closed the door. “Dumas’ Three Musketeers did focus around _four_  main characters.”  
  
“W..what am I?” Tara asked with a smile. “Chopped..li..liver?”  
  
“No,” Willow smiled and moved over to her wife, “you are the radiant Queen who we all worship and adore.”  
  
Tara blushed and smiled. Willow leaned in and claimed a warm kiss from her wife.  
  
“How come we never get to make with the adoration?” Xander grinned and asked while the two women kissed.  
  
“’Cuz Willow can hack into any net account and post our most embarrassing vids,” Buffy answered as the married women broke their kiss and faced their friends.  
  
“And…d..don’ you f…forget it,” Tara said.  
  
Xander laughed and the rest of the friends followed suit.   
  
“It’s good to be h…back,” Xander said.   
  
“We missed you,” Willow acknowledged.  
  
“The ‘Dale isn’t the same without you,” Buffy said.  
  
“I think I can convince the Council to reassign you back to Buffy,” Giles said.  
  
“Why?” Xander asked suddenly suspicious.  
  
“Xander?” Buffy asked, confused at the sudden change in Xander’s tone.

“Because it is obvious Buffy and Willow need you,” Giles said as he once again began his customary nervous trick of cleaning his glasses.   
  
“Is that the only reason?” Xander pressed on with the point.  
  
“What other reason could Giles have?” Willow asked.  
  
“Maybe he doesn’t trust me,” Xander answered keeping his eyes focused on the Watcher.  
  
“Xander,” Giles began. “I am sure there are some residual ‘issues’ to be faced after your forced captivity with Bloody’s crew, but I think that only highlights the need for you to be reassigned to Buffy and Willow. Your ‘recovery’ will be greatly benefited by…”  
  
“What if I don’t want to ‘recover?’ ” Xander interrupted.  
  
“Xander?”  Willow asked confused.  
  
“Xan?” Buffy echoed Willow’s confusion.  
  
Giles sighed and re-perched his glasses on his nose before he answered Xander. “I am sure things are quite confusing and there is much you are trying to work out, but we can help…”  
  
“Don’t you mean ‘reprogram?’” Xander snapped.  
  
“XANDER!” Buffy and Willow both exclaimed at the same time.  
  
Giles whipped off his glasses and stared at Xander with an icy look Xander had never seen before and definitely didn’t want to see now.  
  
“I learned a lot while I was gone,” Xander said.  
  
“Perhaps we should leave Xander alone and let Tara finish her exam and then we can dec…”  
  
“Decide what’s best for me?” Xander interrupted again. “And while Tara’s examining me what will you be telling the Council, Giles?”  
  
“Xander…” Giles began again.  
  
“Xander!” Buffy interrupted. “What’s wrong with you? Why are you attacking Giles?”  
  
“Because he’s lied to us, Buffy,” Xander answered without taking his eyes off the Watcher.  
  
“Xander!” Willow whispered at the accusation.  
  
“What are you talking about?” Buffy asked loudly.  
  
“Xander, please,” Giles said sharply. “Let Tara finish her exam and…”  
  
“Biogens aren’t what we were told,” Xander said. “They aren’t quite the rogue group that suddenly started a bloodbath for no reason. They were enslaved, beaten, ra….”  
  
“XANDER!” Giles barked.  
  
Xander jumped but didn’t stop. “They were raped! They were used by their  _masters_  to play power games and do their dirty work.”  
  
Giles was suddenly across the room and painfully grabbing Xander’s arm.  
  
“You bloody little fool!” Giles hissed. “You don’t know what…”  
  
“Giles?” Buffy asked. “What’s going on? What’s wrong with Xander?”  
  
“Why are you so upset?” Willow asked.  
  
“I know  _exactly_  what I am doing,” Xander said as he looked squarely into Giles’ eyes. “Do you?”  
  
“You don’t know anything,” Giles snapped.  
  
“I know you’ve lied to us,” Xander replied.  
  
“Xander,” Buffy interrupted again. “What are you saying? Giles has never lied to us. We’re your friends. Remember? The Biogens are our enemies not Giles.”  
  
“The Biogens never lied to me,” Xander said still keeping his focus on Giles.   
  
“Yes they did,” Willow said, “if they told you we weren’t still your friends.”  
  
“Oh, Wills,” Xander sighed turning from Giles briefly to look at the redheaded woman. “Spike never said you weren’t my friends.”  
  
“S…Spike?” Tara asked quietly.  
  
“Captain William the Bloody,” Xander answered, “or as Riley likes to call him, Seventeen.”  
  
“Xander,” Giles hissed again. “Stop this. Let Tara examine you. Let…”  
  
“Let you check the Council’s HOPI and make up some cover story about why I need to be locked up?” Xander asked.  
  
“Xander!” Buffy yelled.  
  
“You call Bloody, Spike?” Willow asked.  
  
“W..what’s..H..HOPI?” Tara asked.  
  
“Handbook of Operating Procedures and Initiatives,” Xander answered and focused his gaze back on Giles.  
  
“Is there such a thing?” Buffy asked Giles.   
  
‘I trusted you,” Xander said. “I thought of you like the father I wished I’d had when I finally understood fathers could be something other than drunken, angry, abusive cavemen…”  
  
“Xander,” Giles spoke softly but kept a tight grip on the young Lieutenant.  
  
“But that changed,” Xander pressed onward, “…that changed when I understood that you  _knew_  all along the lies strung together to keep this war going to keep people like Jessie getting killed. To put people like Buffy in the line of fir…”  
  
“I would do everything in my power to keep Buffy alive!” Giles snapped.  
  
“Except tell her the truth!” Xander countered.  
  
“What truth, Xander?’ Buffy asked angrily. “I know what I need to know, even if you don’t! You were taken prisoner by _Seventeen_  and his crew! Reports indicated you were abused both physically and sexually and now you are throwing accusations at Giles? Seems to me you are the one hurting and needing to know the truth!”  
  
“Buffy,” Willow stepped in to try to gentle the situation.  
  
“You’ve been brainwashed, Xander!” Buffy said.  
  
“Buffy!” Willow hissed in shock.   
  
“Yeah, I was,” Xander said. “I was brainwashed by the Council!”  
  
The Regent Prime’s inner circle all hissed at once. No matter Xander’s situation, he was bordering on sedition, a very serious crime that the Council wouldn’t let pass lightly.  
  
“I wasn’t sexually abused,” Xander continued. “I was  _loved!_ ”  
  
Willow gasped.  
  
“Spike is my lover,” Xander confessed. “He’s never abused me…well… except to leave me in  Angel’s company for a few days.”  
  
Buffy’s eyes narrowed. “Listen to yourself, Xan.”  
  
“You listen to me,” Xander said. “Angel may be a suffering, overbearing brood who thinks he always knows what’s best and really gets to me on my best days, but he isn’t the mindless torturing and killing bogeyman the Council has made him out to be.”  
  
“How can you say that?” Willow asked.  
  
“T..the v..vids,” Tara said.  
  
“Oh, I know when Angel went by  _Angelus_  he was the bogeyman, not the boo-hoo man he is now, but he’s changed…”  
  
“Monsters don’t change,” Buffy interrupted.  
  
“Maybe not if they are left in the hands of the ones who created them,” Xander replied. Giles tightened his grip on Xander’s arm.  
  
“What are you saying?” Buffy asked.  
  
“Xander, don’t,” Giles said quietly.  
  
“Why not, Giles?” Xander asked. “Will the Council order us all taken prisoner and tortured just for knowing the tru…”  
  
“You don’t know anything, boy!” Giles yelled.  
  
“Giles?” Buffy asked.  
  
“Is there some truth to what Xander’s saying?” Willow asked.  
  
“I know what I saw for myself,” Xander said. “I know what Wes told me.”  
  
“Wes!” Giles whispered. “He’s alive?”  
  
“Well…,” Xander paused and tried to block out the memory of Wes’ warm blood spattering on his face. “He was when I left.”  
  
“That traitor!” Buffy spat.  
  
Xander winced.  _Buff,_ Xander thought,  _I wish you could understand._  
  
“I had hoped,” Giles said quietly, “I wasn’t sure. The information was conflicting…and Faith?”  
  
“She’s still ‘Faith,’” Xander answered quietly with a smile.  
  
“The bitch!” Willow hissed. “Did she have a part in doing this to you?”  
  
“Shh…” Tara crooned to her upset mate.  
  
“Faith was my truest friend in ‘enemy’ territory,” Xander snapped in defence of the dark haired Regent. “Jessie would have been proud of her.”   
  
Willow’s face went pale and then flushed. Tara wrapped her arms around her wife.  
  
“Xander,” Giles said almost pleadingly, “Please, sto…”  
  
“I’m not going to lie to my friends,” Xander said, “and I’m not going to betray Spike.”  
  
“You can’t really think you’re in love with that…that thing!” Buffy said.  
  
“I can’t believe you thought you were in love with Riley once,” Xander roared. “Believe me! Riley is much more the soulless monster than Spike could ever be now or then! I’ve never seen Spike take pleasure in anyone else’s pain but Riley? I swear he gets a chubby from it!”  
  
“XANDER!”  
  
“Spike loved me! He didn’t force himself on me! He listened to me! He protected me! He didn’t lie to me!”  
  
“He’s putting you at risk, now,” Giles said.  
  
“Because I love him?”  
  
“Xander, you’re confused,” Willow said. “Things happen when you are held captive. You begin to identify with your captor...develop feelings that aren’t real…”  
  
“Wills,” Xander said icily, “I would never insult how you feel about Tara by saying it isn’t real. Don’t insult…”  
  
“But how can you think Spi..Seventeen loves you?” Willow asked.  
  
“Biogens don’t feel love!” Buffy yelled.  
  
“They don’t?” Xander said angrily then whipped off his eye patch.  
  
Tara and Willow gasped. Buffy froze. Giles released Xander and stepped away from him.  
  
Xander stared at his friends and for a moment let his eyes shift gold.


	41. (41/43 plus Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lt. “Xander” Harris and Captain William the Bloody have both suffered and lost in the on going war between the Biogens and Council. Now, Xander finds himself a prisoner of Captain William the Bloody (aka Spike). What will be Xander’s fate?

__But how can you think Spi..Seventeen loves you?”__ _ _Willow__ _ _asked.  
  
“Biogens don’t feel love!” Buffy yelled.  
  
“They don’t?” Xander said angrily then whipped off his eye patch.  
  
_ _Tara_ _and_ _Willow_ _gasped. Buffy froze. Giles released Xander and stepped away from him.  
  
Xander stared at his friends and for a moment let his eyes shift gold._  
  
***  
  
_Buffy quickly recovered from her shock. She charged across the room, slammed Xander into the wall and pressed her right forearm painfully across his throat.  
  
“Who are you?” Buffy snarled. “And what have you done with Xander?”  
  
“Buff…” Xander wheezed. He could barely breathe but he didn’t fight the enraged Regent. “It’s me. It’s Xander.”  
  
“LIAR!” Buffy yelled.  
  
“T..Tara,” Xander gasped and cast his eyes toward the wide-eyed blonde, “bl..blood sample. Take a blood sample…”  
  
“Shut up!” Buffy ordered and pressed her arm more painfully into Xander’s throat cutting off his air supply.   
  
“Buffy,” Tara said quickly as she stepped over to the pair. “I…I can take a b..blood sample. We..can run D..DNA…”  
  
“THIS is NOT Xander,” Buffy growled. “It can’t be! It’s impossible! People just…”  
  
“What…what if it is?” Tara asked quietly.  
  
“Buffy,” Willow’s voice shook as she spoke, “we don’t know that it’s not possible…maybe...”  
  
Buffy eased the pressure on Xander’s throat. Xander gulped a lungful of air.  
  
“If Tara’s results aren’t one hundred percent…”  
  
“I know. The Xander shaped Biogen is dead,” Xander forced past his sore throat.  
  
Tara grabbed a hypodermic and a swab. She quickly, but cautiously, approached Xander. Tara gave Xander a small smile before gently and efficiently taking the blood sample.  
  
“Tara,” Xander said with a small smile of his own, “you’ll understand if I ask you to do this personally?”  
  
Tara nodded and then moved toward the door. She turned and looked at the group.  
  
“I..I should have the re..results shortly. I’ll compare the sample with w..wh..what I already have on file.”  
  
“If there is some sort of cloning technology involved?” Giles asked.  
  
“The cloning technology w…would be f..far beyond w..what we currently c..can do,” Tara interrupted. “Th..they would have had to h..have planned this y..years ago. Plus there would be some deviation. Cl..clones have genomic flaws. If th…if he is a clone, I’ll kn..know.”  
  
Giles nodded. Tara cast a last supportive look at Willow and then left the room with a small vial of Xander’s blood.  
  
***  
  
Spike came back from the proverbial land of ‘Nod’ with the customary groan. He blinked his eyes open. He was in another cell against a steel wall. Spike’s hands were bound above his head, his feet were shackled to the floor and Gates was smiling at him.   
  
“Did I miss anything important?” Spike asked in a bored tone.  
  
“Just that I’ve been ordered to ‘soften you up.’” Gates replied and moved closer to Spike. “Seems the Regent wants to interrogate you herself.”  
  
“Ah,” Spike said slyly as he suggestively thrust his hips forward. “So the blonde trollop wants her own ‘one-on-one’ with the big bad.”  
  
Gates slammed a fist into Spike’s abdomen forcing all the air out of the Biogen. Spike coughed and gasped for air. Gates grabbed Spike’s head and forced him to look up at him.  
  
“I’ve always wondered just how much pain and damage a Biogen could take,” Gates spat. “Guess I’m gonna find out.”  
  
Spike laughed weakly. “All yer gonna find out is how much William the Bloody will take before he gets bored and breaks yer neck, mate.”  
  
Gates slammed Spike’s head back into the wall.  
  
“Think so, eh?” Gates asked.  
  
“I  _know_  so,” Spike replied looking Gates directly in the eye. ”So will you, mate. So will you. That’s a promise.”  
  
Gates shook his head, smiled and then rammed his knee into Spike’s groin.   
  
“We’ll just see about that,” Gates whispered as Spike spat bile on to the floor. “I have time before Graham comes down to relieve me.”  
  
***  
  
“How did this happen?” Willow asked quietly.  
  
“It didn’t!” Buffy insisted.  
  
Xander focused his gaze on the Cybermage.   
  
“It was Caleb…” Xander began.  
  
Willow and Buffy hissed. Giles closed his eyes.  
  
“Caleb! He killed Jesse! He ripped out your eye!” Buffy spat again. “And you want us to believe you really are Xander and are on board the love train with a Biogen?”  
  
“Caleb wasn’t with Spike or Angel!” Xander focused on Buffy. “He was…he was…”  
  
Xander fought the desire to slip into his alternate face. Rage, fear and hurt rushed through him and the memories of Caleb didn’t help.  
  
“He was what?” Willow asked.  
  
“He was rogue,” Xander answered maintaining his control.  
  
“All Biogens are rogue,” Buffy hissed.  
  
“NO!” Xander argued. “Angel is trying to change things. Caleb wasn’t a part of those changes. He wasn’t only our enemy but Angel’s too.”  
  
“What makes you think that?” Buffy asked.  
  
“Because when he wasn’t stripping the flesh from my back or cooking it with a blowtorch he was asking me questions about you and Spike!” Xander retorted.  
  
“Xander!” Willow gasped and put her hand to her mouth. Buffy stepped back from Xander in shock.  
  
“Caleb tortured you?” Giles asked.  
  
“Leave it to the Watcher to get right to the point,” Xander said and looked at Giles. “Torture I think is a bit mild of a description but yeah, Caleb and I had a ‘talk.’”  
  
“And that’s when…?” Willow started to ask.  
  
“That’s when Spike fought to save my life,” Xander interrupted Willow. “Fr…one of Angel’s people had figured out an experimental procedure to make brand new Biogens out of donated nanites.”  
  
“Fr?” Willow asked as her brow furrowed. “You mean Winifred Burkle? She worked in the science division. She…”  
  
“I meant ‘Fr,’” Xander insisted.  _Not going to give them any more of the_ DeSoto _crew,_  Xander thought.  _If I can’t get Spike and I out of this not going to drag…_  
  
“So, withholding information now?” Buffy asked interrupting Xander’s thoughts.  
  
“Buffy,” Xander said. “Don’t ask me to betray one set of friends to keep another.”  
  
“We’re not asking you to betray anyone,” Willow said. “We just want to know what happened.”  
  
“What happened is Caleb hurt me, hurt me bad,” Xander said. “Spike, Angel and Faith came to the rescue. Spike made a Caleb corpse. Then Spike convinced Angel to let them try and help me. Spike gave some of his nanites and from those…”  
  
“They made FrankenXander,” Buffy said.  
  
“Buffy!” Willow exclaimed.   
  
“Until I know this is Xander,” Buffy said and then stepped forward to Xander and painfully poked a finger into his chest, “he’s just another Biogen!”  
  
“And when Tara tells you it’s me?” Xander asked. “What then, Buff?  
  
“She won’t!” Buffy insisted.  
  
“Buffy,” Xander said softly. “It’s me. It’s Xander. I know you still sleep with Mr. Gordo when you’ve had a bad day. I know Willow still blushes at the name of Malcolm Black…”  
  
“XANDER!” Willow cried as she blushed. “We promised to never talk about that again!”  
  
Xander smiled at his best bud and said, “Hey, who hasn’t tried a net romance?”  
  
“Xander!” Willow warned. Xander couldn’t help but laugh a little.   
  
“None of that proves anything!” Buffy insisted. “You could have gotten that information from the real Xander.”  
  
“I am the ‘real Xander’ Buffy,” Xander said and then focused his gaze on the Watcher. “What do you think, Giles?”  
  
“I think this is all going to end very badly,” Giles said quietly.  
  
“Why is that?” Xander asked. “You know you can help me. You can back me up.”  
  
“Back you up?” Buffy asked.  “What, now are you going to tell me Giles is a Biogen?”  
  
“No, but I will tell you Giles knows the truth.”  
  
“The truth?” Willow asked. “What truth do you think Giles knows?”  
  
“The truth, Wills,” Xander answered. “All of it. The truth about the Biogens, the Council and…”  
  
“What happened on Wash?” Buffy snapped. “Are you going to try and convince me that the Biogens didn’t slaughter that colony and Giles can prove it?”  
  
“I don’t know what Giles knows or doesn’t know about Wash, Buff,” Xander said, “but I do know the Biogens didn’t do it.”  
  
Buffy laughed bitterly and then said, “You really are a Biogen. You’re a liar and a killer.”  
  
“I found a button with a silver wolf’s head on it in the hands of one of the victims,” Xander said while trying not to flinch from Buffy’s words. “Raiders slaughtered the Wash colonists.”  
  
“Raiders?’ whispered Willow.   
  
“And why would ‘Raiders’ slaughter a colony?” Buffy asked.  
  
“I don’t know,” Xander said.   
  
“Where’s the button?” Buffy asked.  
  
“I gave it to G…one of the  _DeSoto_ ’s crew to take back to Angel.”  
  
“Convenient,” Buffy said.  
  
“Angel believed the Council did it,” Xander said. “When I told them the Council wouldn’t slaughter colonists he asked me how I knew and I told him it was because I knew my friends. I told him the Council couldn’t do something like that without you and that you couldn’t be a part of something like that. He took me on my word.”  
  
“Biogens stick together,” Buffy said scrambling for something to say.  
  
“Buffy!” Willow yelled. “Stop it!”  
  
“Wills!” Buffy turned to look at the redheaded woman. “You can’t believe this!”  
  
“He knows about Mr. Gordo…he knows about Mal…me.”  
  
“That doesn’t prove anything! What about all the potshots at Giles?”  
  
“I don’t know!” Willow cried. “But I do know that Giles hasn’t really answered  _any_  of Xander’s questions either.”  
  
“You can’t expect him to, Willow! Look at what Xa…he’s accusing Giles of!”  
  
Willow looked at Giles. “Why won’t you answer any of Xander’s questions?”  
  
“Willow,” Giles sighed. “This has already gone too far.”  
  
“What does that mean, Giles?”  
  
“It means were all in danger now,” Xander said.  
  
“Giles would never hurt us!” Buffy yelled. “Would you?”  
  
Buffy looked to Giles. Giles took off his glasses and began to clean them.  
  
“Buffy,” Giles began, “I…Well it’s not…”  
  
A soft knock on the door interrupted the Watcher. Everyone’s focus shifted to the door as Tara entered and walked over to Willow.   
  
“Tara?” Willow asked as she took her wife’s hand. Tara looked at Willow.  
  
“It…It’s a match. He’s Xander,” Tara said softly. Willow squeezed Tara’s hand tightly.   
  
Buffy paled and backed away from Xander. “No!” she said. “It can’t be.”  
  
“Buff,” Xander said reaching for his friend. Buffy stepped further away from his reach.  
  
“It’s a hu..hundred percent match,” Tara said as she turned to face everyone. “I checked twice. There are no genomic flaws either.”  
  
Buffy turned to her Watcher.  
  
“Giles?”  
  
Giles sighed and put on his glasses.  
  
“Xander,” Giles said softly as he looked at the young man still keeping himself against the wall where Buffy had shoved him. “The last thing in this world I would ever want is for any of you to be hurt.”  
  
“Then tell us the truth,” Xander urged.  
  
“You don’t know what you’re asking,” Giles said.  
  
“I’m asking for you to help me, Giles,” Xander said. “Please.”  
  
“Giles?” Buffy asked again.   
  
Giles moved toward his Regent and placed his hands on her shoulders. He gazed at her troubled face and smiled softly.   
  
“You so remind me of your mother,” Giles said quietly.  
  
“My mother?” Buffy asked.  
  
“She was such a beautiful young woman,” Giles said. “I think I was in love with Joyce the moment I saw her. She was smart, strong and completely independent. It was an honour to be in her inner circle.”  
  
“I don’t understand,” Buffy said.  
  
“I think we were a bad influence on each other,” Giles continued. “I was a bit of a ‘rebel’ in my day and I think that encouraged her. We were both headstrong and we pushed for answers when we both should have just gone along. One day she not only made the mistake of questioning her Watcher out right, she disobeyed her.”  
  
“Giles?” Buffy said with a growing sense of dread and fear. Xander unconsciously moved away from the wall and toward his friend. Giles reached out a hand and brushed a lock of Buffy’s hair back.  
  
“It was many years later before I saw your mother again,” Giles said. “The last time I saw her was just before she died.”  
  
“She died giving birth to me,” Buffy said.  
  
“The Council learned from its mistakes, Buffy,” Giles said. “It lost control of the Biogens. It isn’t going to lose control of its Regents.”  
  
“Giles?”  It was Willow’s turn to call Giles’ name in confusion.  
  
“Instead of treating Regents like slaves, they treat them like one of their own; like they are on the inside. Instead of trying to suppress or deny Regents’ emotions, they try and manipulate them. The Council pairs Watchers with Regents at an early age so they will bond. Regents trust their Watchers.”  
  
Buffy withdrew from Giles and he let her go.  
  
“But sometimes Regents can’t be controlled and then…” Giles paused and stared at some far point behind Buffy.  
  
“Then what, Giles?” Buffy asked.  
  
“Regents aren’t just born at random. They aren’t all just ‘selected’ at a young age to attend the academy. There’s a reason why Regents never seem to have close ‘families.’ The Council has a lot invested in the genetic manipulation of the Regent lines.”  
  
Giles refocused his gaze on Buffy.  
  
“After you mother was reass…disappeared,“ Giles said, “I worked hard to regain the Council’s trust. I knew it was the only way to find out where Joyce was. I focused everything so I could be a Watcher. I knew that if I could be a Watcher I could find her again.”  
  
“And you did,” Buffy said.  
  
“I did,” Giles replied. “I saw Joyce again when they took you from her and gave you to me. You were to be my Regent. Only when I first held you, Buffy, did I realize the emotional manipulation went both ways.”  
  
“What does that mean?” Xander asked.  
  
“It means I would do anything to protect Buffy,” Giles said with a razor edge to his voice.   
  
“Does that include betraying her?” Xander asked.  
  
“You think you know everything the Council is capable of?” Giles asked.  
  
“I know that when Wesley knew the truth he left. So did Faith,” Xander answered.  
  
“You think it’s that easy? Just pack up Buffy and leave?”  
  
“Hey!” Buffy said weakly. “Still here.”  
  
“I think you could have tried,” Xander said.  
  
“Do you know what would have happened if I’d failed?”  
  
“What would have happened?” Buffy asked. “What happened to my mother?”  
  
Giles looked at Buffy. “When Wes left, I thought about leaving too. I wanted to Buffy, but I couldn’t.”  
  
“Giles, what aren’t you telling me?”  
  
“You are the best Regent the Council has seen,” Giles said. “You are strong, capable, stable and have reigned longer than any other Regent before dying or needing to be ‘retired.’”  
  
“It’s about the gen..genetic lines?” Tara asked. “Isn’t it?”  
  
Giles nodded without looking away from Buffy.  
  
“What does that mean?” Buffy asked, almost dreading the answer.  
  
“Retired or ‘problem’ Regents are moved into the breeding program,” Giles answered softly. “There they are kept for the sole purpose of breeding the next generation of Regents.”  
  
Willow gasped. Buffy hissed and Xander’s eyes turned solid gold.  
  
“That can’t be true!” Buffy cried. “You can’t be a part of something like that!”  
  
“If I failed you,” Giles said, “if I didn’t help you be what the Council wanted they would have re…”  
  
“That’s what they did to my mother?!” Buffy cried.  
  
Giles closed his eyes and nodded.  
  
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Buffy asked as she grabbed Giles. “I TRUSTED YOU!”  
  
“I wanted to, Buffy,” Giles said. “But I couldn’t risk it.”  
  
“So Xander’s right? This war…why didn’t you tell me when Faith left? Why didn’t…”  
  
“Buffy,” Giles said softly. “Even when you were young you were the best the Council had seen. They wanted to try again. They wanted a backup in case something happened to you.”  
  
“Backup?” Buffy said.   
  
“The Council tried again,” Giles said.  
  
“But that’s impossible,” Buffy said. “My mother is dead.”  
  
“Your mother died after she gave birth,” Giles said, “but not after your birth.”  
  
Buffy paled.   
  
Giles continued, “You have a sister and if I took you away she would be left…”  
  
“A sister?”  
  
“Buffy,” Willow said and moved forward to wrap her arms around her friend.  
  
“Who?” Buffy snarled.  
  
“Dawn,” Giles said softly.  
  
“Dawn!” Buffy said. “She’s barely able to hold Potential status. She’s more suited to being a Watcher…”  
  
“If she doesn’t make Regent,” Giles said, “she’ll be ‘retired.’”  
  
Buffy paled once again.   
  
“That’s not going to happen,” Willow vowed.  
  
“You’ve been protecting Buffy all this time,” Xander said.  
  
Giles nodded.  
  
“And I’ve…”  
  
“Created quite a problem,” Giles said.  
  
“I have a sister,” Buffy said. “Dawn is my sister.”  
  
“Wh..what are we going to do?” Tara asked.  
  
Giles shook his head. Willow continued holding Buffy.  
  
“Help me rescue Spike,” Xander said. “Leave with us.”  
  
“No,” Buffy said.  
  
“Buffy!” Willow cried.  
  
“I’m not leaving,” Buffy said.  
  
“But the Cou…”  
  
“I’m not letting them hurt Dawn,” Buffy said.  
  
“We..we’ll take her with us,” Tara said.  
  
Buffy looked at Giles and said, “That won’t stop them or this war.”  
  
“We can’t eit…”  
  
“I’m the Regent Prime, Willow,” Buffy said looking at her friend. My job is to protect people and to stop the war. That hasn’t changed.”  
  
“Then what are we going to do?” Willow said.   
  
“I don’t know yet, but somehow we’re going to turn this around. We’re going to work from within. We’re going to find and exploit all the Council weaknesses from the inside,” Buffy said. “And we’re going to protect our own.”  
  
“That will take time,” Xander said.  
  
Buffy turned to look at Xander. Buffy gently untangled herself from Willow and moved to her friend.  
  
“I know,” Buffy said.  
  
“I don’t have that time,” Xander said quietly. “I can’t hide what I’ve become much longer and Spike definitely doesn't have the time.”  
  
Buffy moved forward and hugged Xander fiercely. Xander froze for a moment then returned the hug.  
  
“I’m sorry, Xander,” Buffy said.  
  
“No problem,” Xander said fighting back a tear. “Wouldn’t be your inner circle without all the drama.”   
  
Buffy laughed and looked up into Xander’s face.  
  
“I did miss you,” she said.  
  
Xander smiled. “I missed you too.”  
  
“I can’t run away from this,” Buffy said.  
  
“I know,” Xander said, “but I can’t either. I also can’t leave Spike.”  
  
“Xander, we might be able to cover for you but…”  
  
“No, Willow!” Xander said, turning to look at his friend. “Whatever happens, I’m not leaving Spike.”  
  
“But Xander…” Willow tried again.  
  
“Wills, listen to me,” Xander said. “If you keep Spike locked up, then you lock me up with him. You execute him, you execute me. You vivisect him, you vivis…”  
  
“Xander!’ Buffy and Willow yelled in shock and protest at the same time.  
  
Xander looked at his girls and said quietly, “Help me.”  



	42. (42/43 plus Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lt. “Xander” Harris and Captain William the Bloody have both suffered and lost in the on going war between the Biogens and Council. Now, Xander finds himself a prisoner of Captain William the Bloody (aka Spike). What will be Xander’s fate?

**  
**_“Wills, listen to me,” Xander said. “If you keep Spike locked up, then you lock me up with him. You execute him, you execute me. You vivisect him, you vivis…”  
  
“Xander!’ Buffy and _ _Willow_ _yelled in shock and protest at the same time.  
  
Xander looked at his girls and said quietly, “Help me.”_  
  
***  
Xander moved quickly down the hall towards Spike’s cell. There was a confidence in his stride that seemed to belie the unevenness in his walk.  
  
Xander moved as if he were uncomfortable with his own body. The jerky lurching between long to short steps made his gait look almost drunken.  
  
Gates stepped forward as Xander approached.  
  
“Come back for more?” Gates leered.  
  
“Thought Graham was on duty?” Xander replied.  
  
“He will be soon. My watch is about up,” Gates said with a shrug. “Softened Seventeen up a bit. Though if I’d known  _you_ were coming, I might have  _opened_ him up.”  
  
Xander blanched and said, “Uh…thanks.”  
  
Gates arched an eyebrow and studied Xander. Something seemed to be off.  
  
“You been drinking?”  
  
“N…No!” Xander stuttered. “Just still a little overwhelmed after meeting with the Regent.”  
  
Gates grinned wide and said, “She set you straight then, huh?”  
  
Xander nodded.  
  
“You do have the authority to visit the prisoner?”  
  
Xander nodded again and held out his comm pad. Gates took it and read the orders displayed. He pulled out his own unit and used the net to interface with the central comm. The orders checked out.  
  
“Looks in order,” Gates finally said as he handed Xander back his comm unit.   
  
Gates keyed in the lock sequence and the cell door opened.  
  
“I’ll be here if you need anything,” Gates said.  
  
“Yeah…thanks,” Xander said as he entered the cell. The door slid closed behind him.  
  
Xander looked around the dim room and gasped when he spotted Spike. Spike was hanging limp from the manacles above his head. His face was swollen and discolored from bruising. Blood still seeped from his nose and split lip.   
  
“Goddess!” Xander whispered and rushed forward to the unconscious Biogen.  
  
Spike stirred at the sound of Xander’s voice.  _What’s the git doing here?_  Spike thought, as he roused himself from the light sleep he’d succumbed to after Gates had left.  
  
Spike felt Xander’s warm hands gently touch his face.  
  
“P…Harris,” Spike said as he lifted his head and blinked open his swollen eyes to search Xander’s face.  
  
“Seventeen!” Xander said in shock as he stared at Spike’s sapphire blue eyes rimmed in red and purple.  
  
Spike’s eyes narrowed. Something wasn’t right! Xander didn’t smell like Xander.  _Hell!_  Spike thought,  _Xander doesn’t even smell **male**!_  
  
‘Xander’ saw the doubt in Spike’s eyes and quickly, but lightly, slapped Spike’s face.  
  
“Oi!” Spike yelled in mild pain and shock.  
  
“NOT a WORD, Seventeen!”  _Xander_  ordered. “Just follow my…orders.”  
  
Spike narrowed his eyes again.  _For someone who thinks they are in charge_ , Spike mused,  _yer heart rate is going awfully fast. Yer not as confident as you want me to believe._  
  
‘Xander’ watched Spike to see if there was a reaction. Spike remained silent but continued to study ‘Xander.’  
  
“The Regent wants to talk with you herself,” Xander said. “I’m here to make sure you’re no threat to her.”  
  
 _Bloody hell!_  Spike silently groused.  _I’m beaten six ways to Sunday, chipped and manacled! What ya think I’m gonna do ta yer precious Regent? Yap her ta death?_  
  
Whatever supposed threat Xander thought Spike was, he didn’t say. Instead, ‘Xander’ pulled out his comm unit and moved closer to Spike. Then Xander typed in a few codes to the unit before holding it up to Spike’s manacles. The locks burst open and Spike’s numb arms fell down to his sides. ‘Xander’ bent down and repeated the process on the locks securing the restraints on Spike’s ankles.  
  
 _The bird’s a Cybermage!_  Spike thought.  _Only a Cybermage could pull that trick off with just a ‘comm pad.’_  
  
‘Xander’ arched an eyebrow and cleared ‘his’ throat to get Spike’s attention. Spike focused his attention back on his Pet’s borrowed face.  
  
“I’m going to check your chip now. I don’t want to take any chances of a  _malfunction_. You  _could hurt_  Bu…the Regent,” Xander said as ‘he’ held the comm pad to Spike’s head next to the chip.  
  
 _Hurt the Regent?_  Spike thought.  _Again just how am I sup…_  
  
Pain, blinding, searing and incomprehensible pain exploded in Spike’s head.  Spike screamed in anger, rage, fear and roaring agony. The pain was so overwhelming Spike didn’t even realize he’d fallen to his knees.  
  
“Goddess!!!”  _Xander_  whispered as ‘he’ dropped down next to Spike.  
  
 _Oh Goddess!_  the disguised Willow thought.  _What have I done? Xander…Seve..Spike…I’m so sorry. Giles told me about the chip but I only had a few moments to actually study the hacked schematics before I had to get out or the security tracers would have caught my peeking and maybe we should have found a ruse for Tara to come along cuz this looks ba…_  
  
Willow’s mental babble was interrupted by the cell door opening.   
  
“Sounds like a party in here,” Gates said as he slipped inside.  
  
“P…party?” Willow asked. Her confusion and fear showed clearly on Xander’s halonet generated face.  
  
Gates narrowed his eyes and raised his weapon.   
  
“What are you doing, Lieutenant Harris?” Gates asked. “Why is the prisoner unsecured?”  
  
“N..Nothing,” Willow lied while quickly getting to her feet. “Just… you know…questioning the prisoner.”  
  
“About what? How comfortable his restraints were?” Gates asked as he moved closer to the pair, his weapon still very much at the ready.   
  
“Pl….plans..names…stuff,” Willow stuttered.  
  
“So what activated the chip?” Gates asked while motioning with his wrist where he wore the control device. “I mean a scream like that could only have been produced by the chip…unless you have some  _hidden_  talents?”  
  
“Talents!” Willow squeaked as she stepped further away from Gates and Spike. “No. Nothing like that…it was…a glitch…just a...malfunction or som...”  
  
“A glitch, Xander?” Gates asked slipping further into the room with his eyes fixed on Xander. “A glitch has you so nervous? I think you’re holding out on me, buddy. Why don’t you tell me the truth, huh? Maybe I can work something out with Riley on your behalf. C’mon, tell me what set off the chip?”  
  
“I DID!” roared Spike as he suddenly sprang from his crouch and charged.  
  
Gates whipped his weapon around and got off a wild shot before Spike slammed into him. Willow screamed as the two men went down cursing and brawling.  
  
“Gonna rip your throat out Council Boy!” Spike snarled as he shifted into game face and pounded a fist into Gates’ side.  
  
“Yer balls are gonna hang in my room as trophies, Biogen!” Gates grunted and rolled with the punch before trying to knee Spike in the groin. Willow scrambled around the men trying to get Gates’ lost gun.  Spike blocked Gates’ knee shot and dove for a hold on Gates’ throat. From the corner of his eye Gates caught Willow making a move for his gun. He ignored Spike to concentrate and scramble his fingers toward his fallen gun.  He felt his fingers wrap around the cool metal just before Willow made her grab.  
  
“Stop or I’ll shoot Xander!” Gates yelled as he trained his gun on Willow.   
  
“Yer nowhere near him, mate!” Spike growled and as he wrapped his hands around Gates’ throat and squeezed. Gates jerked the trigger. Shots fired and ricocheted around the cell. Willow dove to the ground. Gates gurgled and Spike rolled him until he was pinned under Spike.   
  
Spike began jerking up and down on Gates’ neck forcing Gates’ head to slam up and down.   
  
“Been a long time since I found out just how much pain and damage a human can take!” Spike growled as he continued to slam Gates’ head into the floor until Gates’ head looked like some macabre bouncing ball.  
  
“SPIKE! STOP!” Willow cried in horror as blood began spattering from Gates’ broken skull.   
  
“I  _always_  keep my promises,” Spike said as he stopped slamming Gates’ busted open head and twisted it around until there was a loud and audible SNAP.   
  
“Oh Goddess!” Willow wept as she stared at the dead man and the fully enraged Biogen. Spike looked at the disguised Cybermage. His face shifted but didn’t look any less threatening spattered in his own and Gates’ blood.  
  
“Is this a rescue or more torture?” Spike asked.  
  
“Re…Rescue,” Willow whispered.   
  
“You the bint W…” Spike began to ask.  
  
“SHUT UP SPIKE!” Willow cried and looked at Spike in terror.  _Please don’t blow this plan any more than it already has been!_  Willow thought.  
  
“He’s right, Spike,” Graham’s voice said flatly from behind him. Spike whirled to see Graham standing in the cell doorway with his weapon trained on Spike and ‘Xander’. Spike moved without thinking and placed himself in front of ‘Xander.’  
  
“Security logs are recording everything,” Graham said. “It’ll only be a matter of moments before backup arrives.”  
  
“So then I guess this is war then?” Spike asked as he studied Graham. Graham nodded.   
  
“Nothing means shit? Right Spike?” Graham said. “If you get a chance you’ll still shoot me?”  
  
“Without a doubt,” Spike said.  
  
“No!” Willow cried. “There’s been enough killing!”  
  
“Sorry pea…pet,” Spike said. “Doesn’t work that way.”   
  
Then Spike launched himself into a roll with all the Biogen enhanced speed he possessed. Shots fired close above his head and torso but missed him. Spike grabbed Gates gun and came up firing. Red blossomed in Graham’s side and his gun fell from his hands as he stumbled back and collapsed against the hall wall.  
  
“NOOO,” Willow cried and rushed forward to Graham, but not before Spike reached him.   
  
“N..nice…shot,” Graham grimaced as he held his hands over the bleeding wound in his side.  
  
“Couple of centimeters either way and it’d be fatal,” Spike whispered and pulled Graham’s body into a more comfortable position.  
  
“F..figured Biogens k..knew that kind of th..thing,” Graham grunted.   
  
 _Bloody softhearted Soldier Boys!_  Spike thought as he did his best to check the wound and make sure his shot had been true.   
  
“Help will arrive soon,” Willow said in Xander’s voice as she crouched next to Graham on his other side. “Hang on. I promise you’ll get the best care. Please...please just don’t die.”  
  
“N..no intention of d..doing that, s..sir,” Graham said.   
  
Spike leaned over Graham and whispered very quietly into his ear, “Ya ever find yerself in trouble behind enemies lines, ya tell ‘em yer a friend of Spike’s. Got that? Ya tell ‘em yer under Spike’s protection? Understand Soldier Boy?”  
  
Spike pulled away and looked at Graham. Graham returned the gaze and gave a tiny nod. Spike smiled and then looked at the horrified and tear strewn ‘Xander.’  
  
“C’mon  _Harris_ , we have ta move,” Spike ordered.  
  
Willow shook herself and refocused on her ‘mission.’ She nodded, got to her feet and began to move down the corridor. Spike followed.  
  
***  
  
Spike still had Gates’ gun and he held it at the ready. The gun was the only thing keeping him from being completely at the mercy of the bint leading him through twisting corridors, access hatches and a few air ducts.  
  
 _The bird’s gotta be the Cybermage, Willow, that Xan’s always nattering on about,_  Spike thought as he followed the fake Xander.  _Gonna take this to mean he opened his bloody mouth and either this is all gonna end very badly or…_  
  
“Do you love him?” Xander’s voice asked as ‘he’ suddenly came to a halt outside another access hatch.  
  
“Wot?” Spike asked.  _Not a good time for a tea and chat!_  
  
“Right here is a dead space,” fake Xander said. “On the other side of the access hatch is the hangar where Xander waits, but before I hack the code and bust open the door I want to know a few things.”  
  
Spike studied the Xander disguised Willow. She looked like a very determined Xander (with an unaccustomed pouting bottom lip).  
  
“Wot things?” Spike said suspiciously.  
  
“Do. You. Love. Him?” Willow said slowly and clearly.  
  
“More’n anything or anyone I’ve loved before, besides Dru,” Spike answered honestly. “And more to the point, I  _need_  him more than anyone or anything and that includes Dru.”  
  
Willow searched Spike’s face for deception.  
  
“You hurt him and I swear I’ll hunt you down. I’ll find a way to reprogram your nanites so the pain the chip caused will seem like a walk in the park. I’ll…”  
  
“Yeah…yeah…Red,” Spike said with a smile at the girl’s fierceness, “You’ll conk me on the head with a shovel and grind my bones for yer bread.”  
  
“Ew!” Willow said. “All but the last part. Definitely no bone bread. Eww! You don’t make Xander eat that do you?”  
  
Spike laughed and shook his head. “Red, I can’t make Xander do anything…well… anything he doesn’t really  _want_ to do.”  
  
‘Xander’s’ eyes grew wide, he blushed and then he quickly covered his ears, “La...La…La…can’t hear you!”  
  
Spike laughed again. They really didn’t have time for this, but Spike figured it was his only chance to get a moment with the bint his pet considered his best friend.  
  
“Ya done now?” Spike asked as the fake Xander lowered his arms. Xander nodded.  
  
“Look,” Willow said. “As far as security shows, Xander rescued you. Understand?”   
  
Spike nodded.   
  
“On the other side of that door there’s a ship,  _The Zeppo_ , waiting. Xander’s already on board waiting for you. Understand Xander’s giving up everything here. As far as the Council’s concerned, Xander will be made a traitor. Buffy and I will have to publicly denounce him. There is no going back.”  
  
“Red, I got it,” Spike said.  
  
“Do you?” Willow said. “Xander’s giving up everything for you, Sev…Spike. Please promise me he won’t regret it. Promise me you’ll take care of him and treat him right. Promise me you love him.”  
  
Spike put both hands on ‘Xander’s’ shoulders. They easily slipped through the halo image and rested on slight shoulders. Spike stared into Xander’s halonet generated eyes.  
  
“I promise,” Spike said, “and I never break my promises.”  
  
Xander nodded then quickly turned away. Spike released his light hold on Willow’s shoulder. Willow held up her comm unit to the access hatch control panel and typed in a few codes.  
  
Several things happened at once. The hatch blew open, red alerts flared throughout the complex and the lights went out on the hangar deck. Willow grabbed Spike’s hand.  
  
“ _The Zeppo!_ ” Willow hissed. “Get us to the  _The Zeppo_.”  
  
Spike’s eyes shifted and the darkness of the hangar suddenly blazed in the low-spectrum infrared. Spike’s eyes shone as they picked up and amplified the tiniest amount of light including the infrared. Spike surged forward and pulled Willowbehind him.  Spike quickly and quietly moved between scrambling soldiers and stationary cargo crates and ships. Every now and then he’d stop and Willow’s thin body would bounce into him. He’d quickly put his hand over her mouth to cover the accompanying gasp.   
  
It took Spike longer than he would have liked to cross the hangar, but in a relatively short time they did make it to a small interplanetary ship which was running hot. The words  _The Zeppo_  were painted on it and a gangplank was lowered from the side.  
  
Spike led Willow up the plank and then let out a strangled “Arggh!” as he entered the well lit  _Zeppo_.  
  
“Spike!” Xander’s voice cried and firm hands touched Spike’s cheeks. Spike inhaled deeply and smelled his Pet.  
  
“Xan!” Spike whispered and opened his eyes, this time shifting them back to normal so the light wasn’t blindingly painful but was instead, welcome.  
  
Xander smiled at his lover and asked, “Are you all right?”  
  
“Never better,” Spike said and smiled as he took in the sight of the real Xander.  
  
Xander studied Spike in return and then winced as he noted Spike’s injuries. Xander hissed.  _I’m gonna kill ‘em! Gonna kill ‘em all! he thought._  
  
“Too late, luv,” Spike said as if he could read Xander’s mind. Spike couldn’t, but he could read Xander’s expression. “Gates is dead.”  
  
“Ghods, Spike!” Xander cried and then pulled Spike to him in a strong embrace. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry for the beatings, the torture, the ra…”  
  
“Shush!” Spike said fiercely as he returned Xander’s embrace. “I’m alive. Yer alive and we’re getting the bloody hell outta here! That’s all that matters.”  
  
“About that,” Willow said, still in Xander’s voice, “you need to be making with the getting out of here ASAP.”  
  
Spike and Xander separated. Xander looked at the replica of himself.   
  
“Wills,” Xander said and moved toward his alter ego, “can you drop that thing for a minute?”  
  
“Huh? Oh!” Willow said, punched a few codes into her comm unit and then was suddenly herself albeit draped in a thin wire netting.  
  
Xander smiled and then hugged her.  
  
“I’m gonna miss, you,” Xander said choking back tears.  
  
“It won’t be forever,” Willow said keeping back tears of her own. “We’ll find a way to end this war.”  
  
“Sure you won’t c…”  
  
“I can’t leave Buffy,” Willow said. “And you know why she can’t leave.”  
  
Xander nodded and then pulled away from Willow a bit.   
  
“When will we see each other again?” Xander asked.  
  
“I don’t know,” Willow said.  She dug into her pocket and pulled out a yellow crayon then broke it in half. “But in case you ever do need to see me…here.”  
  
Willow held out half the crayon to Xander. Xander laughed and took the crayon.  
  
“You need me, you send that crayon. I’ll come.”  
  
“You get the crayon,” Xander said, “head for Willie’s on Onxard.”  
  
Willow smiled and Spike kept back a growl.  Spike didn’t like Willie’s. It brought back memories of seeing Xander helpless and at the mercy of a mob.  
  
“How will we get word to you about…?”  
  
“Children,” Spike interrupted. “If you don’t cut these goodbyes short…there won’t be any.”  
  
“Anyone ever tell you you’re bossy?” Xander asked.  
  
“Only the cheeky git who’s gonna get his arse beat cherry red if he doesn’t make with the sayonaras!”  
  
 “You sure you want to go with him?” Willow asked.  
  
“It’s a dirty job,” Xander said with a smile, “but somebody’s gotta do it.”  
  
Willow laughed and then threw herself into Xander’s arms.   
  
“Buffy’s got all the Regents and Potentials on a ‘training’ exercise. Soon as I type in the code the backup security will malfunction. You’ll be able to get out of the hangar. The remods you and Jesse made to the engines are still intact. You should be able to plot…”  
  
“Wills, we have to say goodbye,” Xander said.  
  
Willow clutched Xander, sniffed and let go.   
  
“Keep your promise!” Willow cried to Spike. Spike nodded.  
  
Then Willow punched in a code into her comm unit. The halonet activated and there was a Council soldier standing on board  _The Zeppo_.  Willow punched in another code and the hangar’s alerts cut out. Willow turned and ran down the gangplank.  
  
Xander punched a code into the panel by the hatch. The gangplank began to rise and the doors began to slide shut. Quickly Xander moved past Spike and forward to the tiny bridge. He punched in a few codes on the command console and the engines throbbed fully to life.   
  
“Hang on!”  Xander punched in another series of codes and  _The Zeppo_ roared. It surged forward and leapt from the floor as the hangar bay doors swung open for launch. Blue sky was wide open above the tiny ship and it darted forward and upward until soon it was punching through atmosphere and stars swam in front of the bridge display.  
  
“We’re going home, pet?” Spike asked quietly from behind Xander.  
  
Xander nodded, “Yeah, Spike, we’re going home.”


	43. (43/43 plus Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lt. “Xander” Harris and Captain William the Bloody have both suffered and lost in the on going war between the Biogens and Council. Now, Xander finds himself a prisoner of Captain William the Bloody (aka Spike). What will be Xander’s fate?

“ _Hang on!” Xander punched in another series of codes and the Zeppo roared. It surged forward and leapt from the floor as the hangar bay doors swung open for launch. Blue sky was wide open above the tiny ship and it darted forward and upward until soon it was punching through atmosphere and stars swam in front of the bridge display.  
  
“We’re going home, pet?” Spike asked quietly from behind Xander.  
  
Xander nodded, “Yeah, Spike, we’re going home.”_  
  
***  
  
Spike moved forward until he was crowding Xander in the tiny cabin of the bridge.  
  
“So wot’s our headin’?” Spike asked.  
  
“Out there,” Xander gestured toward the wide expanse of stars.  
  
“Pet?”  
  
“Well to tell you the truth,” Xander muttered, “I’m not exactly sure.”  
  
Spike arched an eyebrow.  
  
“Uhm…well…see this ship belonged to both Jesse and me,” Xander began to explain. “Technically, it was mostly Jesse’s. He was the pilot and I was well…well…sorta hoping for first mate or cabin boy or just tagalong. We, well mostly he, tinkered with the ship so it could be used for more than just orbital flights. Maxed out the engines big time so it could do the interplanetary exploring thing. That’s what we hoped anyway. But when he…”  
  
Xander paused and choked back sudden tears. Even after all he’d been through and the healing Spike had helped him achieve, Jesse’s death still hurt.  
  
“After he died you lost the dream of being the  _Zeppo’s_  ‘cabin boy,’” Spike finished gently.   
  
Xander nodded and then continued, “Turns out Jesse left me the ship but after he died I couldn’t even look at it. Willow and Tara kept it for me.”  
  
“Pet,” Spike said softly as he closed the distance between himself and Xander, “I’m sorry for yer hurt and I promise ta kiss ya and make it all better but I still don’t know where we’re bloody headin’. If you didn’t plot the course who did?”  
  
“Willow…I think,” Xander said.  
  
“Cor pet!”   
  
“What? She’s our friend! She…”  
  
“Red wouldn’t but if anyone got word of the daring rescue this could be a setup,” Spike said and quickly looked at the console and the settings.  
  
Xander remained quiet. He really hadn't thought of the possibility of a setup so confident was he in the skill of his friends.  
  
“If ya didn’t know how to fly this ship how were ya planning on gettin' away?” Spike growled as he began examining the plotted course.  
  
“Well, I thought you’d fly us,” Xander said.  
  
“And wot if Red hadn’t a pulled the rabbit outta the hat?” Spike said as he turned and pinned Xander with his gaze.  
  
“Then I wasn’t going anywhere,” Xander said.  
  
“Pet!” Spike hissed and then wrapped his hand around the back of Xander’s neck. “That should never have been an option! Yer ta always get yer pretty little backside to safety! Ya hear? It’s an order!”  
  
Xander leaned close until his lips were almost touching Spike’s and then said, “No way Captain Imperious! We leave together or we don’t leave at all. Punish me later.”  
  
“Oh I intend to,” Spike said before claiming the sassy mouth he loved and had missed so much.   
  
Xander welcomed Spike’s domineering kiss and gladly submitted to the hard, frantic lips pressing against his. He parted his lips and let Spike’s tongue slide in and re-stake its claim by mapping his mouth. Then Xander groaned as Spike nipped, nibbled and sucked on his lips until they were red and swollen. Spike kissed Xander hungrily and worshiped his mouth like a devotee worshiping at the feet of his one true god.  
  
When they both needed to breathe, Spike pulled away. He shot a lustful look at Xander to take in the man who defied him and yet still always submitted to him.   
  
“Permission ta change course,” Spike whispered as he stared into Xander's eyes.  
  
“Huh?” Xander said dazedly returning Spike's gaze.  
  
“Yer the Captain,” Spike said with a smile, “and I’m askin’ ya fer permission ta change course. Want us headin’ in the opposite direction from Red’s course. Figure we’ll plant ourselves behind Eyghon's moon and then send word ta the Hyperion that we're ok. If I know him, Peaches is probably drownin’ everyone in broody tears and mournful looks. Then we’ll wait till the  _DeSoto_  can come and escort us home.”  
  
“Oh!” Xander said still trying to recover from Spike’s kiss.  
  
Spike arched his eyebrow again.  _How can he say so much with such a little gesture?_  Xander wondered.  
  
“Uhm, yeah, permission granted,” Xander said as he blushed.   
  
“Oi!” Spike grunted and then turned around and smiled as he plotted a new course for the _Zeppo._    
  
“When you’re done,” Xander said, “there’s a shower in the sleeping cabin. ‘Fraid the _Zeppo’s_  shower is only big enough for one, but it has twice the hot water of the  _DeSoto_.”  
  
“Ya tryin’ ta tell me somethin’, pet?” Spike asked as he turned around.   
  
“Well yeah. You’re bloody, stinky and I thought you might want to wash up.”  
  
Spike laughed and swatted Xander on the butt as he wiggled around him and out of the bridge’s cabin.  
  
“Hey! Watch it!” Xander yelled.  
  
“I was!” Spike quipped and then headed toward the back of the  _Zeppo_  and to its only sleeping cabin.   
  
Xander turned around and plopped himself into the armless captain’s chair. He stared out at the expansive stars and muttered to himself about blond bullies starting something they didn’t finish.  
  
***  
  
Xander was still lost in thought about Spike when he heard the sound of a throat clearing behind him. Xander swiveled in his captain’s chair and checked the gasp of want in his throat.  Spike leaned against the archway to the bridge with his arms crossed over his bare chest. Spike wore a pair of loose low riding slacks he must have found in the sleeping cabin. The pants only seemed to accentuate the treasure trail of flesh outlined in lean muscle. Spike's attire consisted only of those loose pants; even his feet were bare.  
  
Crystal blue eyes and a predatory smile beamed at Xander. Spike arched an eyebrow and the gasp escaped out of Xander’s throat, straight over his tongue and eased through his parted and suddenly dry lips.  
  
"Before we settle some business between us, pet," Spike said softly, "I want ta know a few things."  
  
Xander's throat closed.  _Business between us?_ Xander thought.  _What does he mean?_  Memories of what Xander did to Spike in the bathroom of  _Snyder's_  holding cell suddenly replayed in Xander's mind and the color drained from his face.  
  
"Spike, I..." Xander began to whisper. A quick shake of Spike's head silenced Xander.  
  
"Right now I'm asking the questions, pet," Spike said. "I ask, you answer. Got it?"  
  
Xander nodded.  
  
"What was the status of the  _DeSoto_  before you set out to rescue me?"  
  
Xander closed his eyes and tried to swallow past the desert in his throat.  
  
"The  _DeSoto was_  fine when I left. Riley said it got away. Bitched about it in fact."  
  
Spike narrowed his eyes. He hadn't missed the dance of Xander's words,  _The_ DeSoto _was fine_.  
  
"Pet? I need to know the status of the _DeSoto and_  her crew," Spike ordered.  
  
"Wes was hit," Xander said quietly.  
  
A low growl erupted from Spike and his eyes blazed gold, but he didn't move.   
  
"How bad?" Spike asked.  
  
Xander opened his eyes and looked at Spike then said, "Bad. Not sure if he was gonna make it bad. His blood was all over me, Spike. Faith was torn between you and Wes. Told her to get Wes back to the ship. I'd bring you home. That's all I know."  
  
Spike took a deep breath. Xander could feel the waves of rage pulsating off his lover.  _Gates is lucky he died before Spike got this news,_  Xander thought.  
  
Spike released his breath and his eyes shifted back to their cerulean blue.   
  
"Pet," Spike said. "Not yer fault. Ya did good. Wes is strong. Faith is stronger. I'm gonna lay odds they're ok."  
  
Xander nodded.  _Wes isn't my fault,_  Xander thought,  _but what happened on the_ Snyder _is._  
  
"So, howz our course lookin'?" Spike asked, suddenly changing topics.  
  
"Uhm," Xander said as he swiveled back around in his chair to look at the console. "Ok?"  
  
Spike laughed and moved forward onto the tiny bridge. He leaned close over Xander's shoulder and stared at the console.  
  
"We've drifted a bit," Spike said softly against Xander's ear. His words caused little puffs of air to dance across and sensitize Xander's skin. Despite his guilt, Xander felt his body react.  
  
Spike snaked an arm past Xander and used his long fingers to glide over the console and make the needed corrections. Xander's gaze was fixated on those fingers and despite the bad memories taking precedence in his brain; some sinfully good memories stirred and made Xander go just a bit harder.  
  
"Uhm, maybe you should pilot?" Xander asked.   
  
"Nope," Spike answered his mouth still near Xander's ear. "Not the job I want."  
  
Xander swallowed.   
  
"Uhm...you could take over being captain," Xander said as he started to rise.  
  
Spike's hands quickly retreated from the console and planted themselves firmly on Xander's shoulders forcing him to stay in the seat. Spike fingers curled seductively into Xander's flesh and Spike's mouth moved to Xander's other ear.  
  
" _Zeppo's_  already got a captain," Spike whispered. "Again, not interested."  
  
Xander tried to swallow the spit he didn't have. He tried to ignore the scent of his own pheromones and the increasing state of happiness in his pants.  
  
"Mechanic? Engineer?" Xander asked.  
  
"No and no," Spike said before capturing Xander's earlobe between his teeth.  
  
"So w...whaahhhhhh...oh Ghod!" Xander groaned as Spike started to suck on Xander's earlobe. "Mmmmm...gah...wha...what do you want?"  
  
Spike's chuckle vibrated through Xander's earlobe, down his spine and straight up Little Xander's tip.  
  
"It's not what  _I_  want," Spike said releasing Xander's ear and then spinning him around in the chair until Spike could straddle just above Xander's lap. Spike leaned in again and whispered, "It's what  _you_  need."  
  
"I need?" Xander squeaked.  
  
"Mmmhmm," Spike said before he licked his warm wet tongue up Xander's throat starting at the tempting little hollow at its base and up and over Xander's Adam’s apple. Xander leaned his head back offering his throat completely to Spike.   
  
Spike inhaled deeply the scent of his boy's need and smiled against Xander's chin.  _Gonna make it all better,_ Spike silently vowed.  _Gonna chase away the bad memories, pet. Gonna make it so good between us I'll never see that hurt in yer eyes again or hear it in yer voice. I know yer too sweet to leave it to being what it was and had ta be. Ya always bleed fer the hard choices._  
  
"Ya need a CM," Spike whispered against Xander's ear. Xander's cock twitched and his breath hitched. "Ya need someone ta take care of ya...ease yer  _stress_."  
  
"Spiiike!" Xander moaned.  
  
Spike slowly lowered himself so he finally straddled Xander properly. He rocked forward so his hard prick could rub against and make friends with Xander's.  
  
"Oh..ghods...ghod!" Xander panted as he tried to focus on Spike.  
  
Spike slid his hands down Xander's chest and then burrowed them under Xander's shirt. He snaked his long fingers up until he could pinch and roll both of Xander's pert nipples. Xander bucked and nearly screamed.  
  
"Shush," Spike crooned as he simultaneously kissed Xander's neck and tortured Xander's nipples. "Just relax, Captain."  
  
 _Relax?_  Xander thought.  _How the hell am I_...  
  
Xander never finished his thought due to the short circuit in his brain when Spike reclaimed his mouth. Spike didn't just claim; he owned. Spike didn't just kiss Xander he fucked his mouth with his tongue. Xander shot straight past moaning and groaning to making animalistic sounds of raw need.  
  
Spike chuckled at Xander's abandon then released his pet's mouth. With the seductive grace of a creature of hedonism, Spike quickly went from tweaking Xander's nubs to gliding Xander's shirt up his chest, over his head, down his arms and the back of the chair. Spike smiled at the pretty picture Xander made.  
  
Xander's chest was bare but his arms were pinned back against the chair; imprisoned by his own shirt. Xander's face was flushed; his breath rapid and his lips were swollen red and glistening. Spike wanted to devour his boy.  _Not this time,_ Spike thought.   
  
Slowly Spike slid off of Xander's lap and backed a few steps away. Spike looked for the tight and heavy bulge in Xander's crotch. He wasn't disappointed.  
  
"Sp..Spike?" Xander panted.  
  
"Yeah, p...Captain?" Spike said as he slid his loose pants down over his long legs to his ankles and then lithely stepped out of them.  
  
"I tho..thought we..." Xander struggled for a coherent thought while his body thrummed in reaction to seeing Spike gloriously nude and hard before him. "You said we had unfinished bus..."  
  
"We do,  _Captain_ ," Spike said saying the word "Captain" with the same meaning and inflection he used when saying the word, "pet." Spike grinned, slid forward and placed his hands on Xander's knees. With little effort, Spike parted Xander's legs and knelt down between them. He looked Xander in the eye and then deliberately, slowly, licked his lips.  
  
Xander groaned, "Am I going to survive this?"  
  
Spike laughed and quickly undid the fastening on Xander's pants. Then he delicately peeled the fabric back, tugged at the waistband of Xander's underwear and freed Xander's red and precum tipped penis. Once again Spike licked his lips.   
  
"SPIIKE!" Xander cried, "FUCK!"  
  
"We're gettin' there,  _Captain,_ " Spike chuckled just before he swooped down and slid his warm mouth over Xander's straining cock. Xander arched helplessly into that wet delicious heat. Spike chuckled again and the vibrations sent shivers of need up through Xander’s hard length and straight to Xander's chest. For a moment Xander's body couldn't decide whether it needed to gasp for air or scream. Spike sucked until his cheeks were hollowed and his mouth filled with the taste of his boy. Xander's body bucked and a scream was finally wrenched from him.  
  
Spike grabbed Xander's ball sac firmly and squeezed to stave off the pending orgasm.  
  
"F…FUU...UUUK!" Xander yelled and clenched his hands into fists.  
  
Spike slowly slid his mouth back up Xander's cock and let it fall out his mouth with a loud wet POP!  
  
"In good time, my Captain, in good time," Spike promised. Then he once again made use of his long fingers to gently pet his  _captain_ , until Xander's breathing was less erratic and his need less on the edge. Xander stared helplessly at his lover. _Whatever Spike needs,_  Xander silently vowed,  _whatever he wants I'll give it to him._  
  
Spike caught Xander's gaze and smiled. Spike basked for a moment in the wide-eyed trust Xander gave him.  _Never gonna give him up,_  Spike thought.  _Git wouldn't let me even if I wanted to._  
  
Then Spike snaked his fingers down until they were once again dancing around Xander's pants. Xander hissed.  
  
"Lift up," Spike ordered softly. It was an awkward position for Xander, but he put his feet flat on the floor and lifted his butt out of the chair. Spike gently tugged on Xander's pants and slid them down and over the pert ass Spike loved to stroke and fondle.  _Not right now,_  Spike told himself. He slid Xander's pants down the long legs and thought about how he loved to have them wrapped around his waist when he fucked Xander face-to-face.  _Later,_  Spike thought.   
  
"Sit," Spike said, and when Xander planted his butt back in the chair Spike finished removing Xander's pants and stepped away from the ‘V’ between Xander's legs. Spike let his eyes roam hungrily over Xander's mostly nude and fully flushed body. Spike couldn't resist another long teasing lick of his lips.  
  
"I'm not a steak, Spike," Xander moaned.  
  
"But ya are juicy," Spike said as he flicked a finger over the tip of Xander's leaking cock. Spike put the finger to his mouth and made a show of sucking it clean. "Nummy too!"  
  
"SPIIIIKE!" Xander groaned and stomped his feet. "This is definitely NOT relieving my  _stress_!"  
  
Spike laughed before turning and digging something out of his pants which were lying on the ground. Xander admired the view whilst thinking  _Now what?_  He then gasped in surprise when Spike turned around holding a tube of slick.  
  
"Where'd ya get that?" Xander asked.  
  
"Seems there was a stash of the stuff in with the extra clothes I found in the sleeping quarters. There was a note too," Spike said. "Read: 'Have fun and play safe. Love Doc T.'"  
  
Xander blushed and laughed at the same time.  
  
"Pet?" Spike asked as he cocked an eyebrow.  
  
"Tara," Xander explained. "She's my doctor  _and_  Willow's wife."  
  
"Well then," Spike said as he once again stalked forward and stood straddling Xander's lap, "guess we'll have to follow the doctor's orders?"  
  
Xander swallowed. Spike smiled, squeezed a generous amount of lube into his free hand and then slowly coated Xander's cock with it.  
  
"Spike?" Xander asked in confusion and near panic.  _What's he doing?_ Xander thought.  _This isn't...I can’t..._  
  
"Shhh," Spike crooned as he continued to stroke Xander keeping him hard despite Xander's confusion. "Unfinished business."  
  
"Spike, I don't wanna hurt you...," Xander tried to argue.  
  
"Ya won't and ya didn't," Spike said.  
  
"Liar," Xander answered. "I remember. I was there."  
  
"So was I," Spike countered still firmly stroking Xander's hard and slick length. "And I also remember tellin' ya that ya couldn't hurt me."  
  
"I did!" Xander insisted.  
  
"Ya didn't hurt me then, luv," Spike said as he ceased stroking Xander and maneuvered himself over his boy’s cock. "And ya won't hurt me know."  
  
Slowly, Spike began to ease himself down on to Xander. Both men gasped. Xander in shock at what Spike was doing, Spike at the pressure and slight burn as he began forcing Xander's cock past his opening. Spike had stretched and lubed himself before coming to the cabin but Xander was big and Spike was tight.  
  
"Spi..."   
  
"This is for  _us,_ " Spike said interrupting Xander and straining the muscles in his legs as he focused on his slow descent. "Last time was fer show. Was for Riley and his power trip. Was ta save our lives..."  
  
Spike paused and then gasped in pleasure as Xander popped through Spike's outer ring and the pressure and burn turned to a warm full sensation as Spike's body began to greedily take in Xander's length.  
  
"This time," Spike continued as he settled himself fully down into Xander's lap, "this time it's for us. You and me, pet. Makin' it good like it's supposed to be."  
  
Xander stared at his lover. He was torn by the incredible feeling of being inside the man he loved and by the memories of the last time he'd felt enveloped by Spike’s body. Spike stared back and then wrapped his arms around Xander's neck. He leaned forward. Heat, need, and the musky smell of their combined desire cocooned Xander.  
  
"Love me, Xan," Spike whispered against Xander's lips.   
  
Xander groaned and then began to gently push up into Spike. He tried to angle his thrusts to rock against that special place inside Spike. He must have succeeded because Spike suddenly threw back his head and let loose a long growl of pleasure. Xander kept his eyes locked on Spike even as he gently thrust back and forth into him. Spike lowered his head and returned Xander's gaze. Spike smiled and then slowly thrust back against Xander in a counter rhythm until the two were locked into a seamless dance of rocking flesh.   
  
Time lost all meaning for Xander. He didn't know how long he thrust into Spike. All Xander knew was the feel and smell of Spike and the clear blue depths of Spike's eyes.  _Home,_  Xander thought.  _Spike IS home._  
  
Spike smiled and once again leaned forward.  
  
"C'mon, Xander," Spike whispered against Xander's lips. "Fuck me like ya mean it!"  
  
Spike's words ignited something deep and hungry in Xander. Xander's eyes went gold and he growled and bit at Spike's lips. Xander's rhythm changed from a gentle thrust to a hard fast buck. Spike laughed and offered his throat to Xander. Xander pounded into Spike and bit the offered neck. Spike pulled Xander close and adjusted his own rhythm to ride Xander's pounding. Spike's hard and leaking cock was caught between the two men's stomachs. The sweat slick skin and the friction of the fast pounding sent delicious sensations up and down Spike's length.  
  
"That's it," Spike shouted. "Fuck me, Pet! Open me up and go deep."  
  
Xander snarled and somehow thrust even deeper and harder into Spike. Spike gasped and held on to the whirlwind around, underneath and inside of him. His Xander was a force of nature tasting like planetside and breaking around him like a violent spring storm. Spike wanted to stand in the midst of the storm, taunting and taking it until they discovered who burned out first.  
  
"FUCK ME!" Spike ordered. Xander roared and plowed as deeply as he could into Spike. Spike's world went gold. Neck and leg muscles strained and glistened. For a short moment and a bright eternity the two men balanced on the edge of a high precipice. Then they tumbled over the edge together. Need erupted and coated them as Xander's seed filled Spike and Spike's seed bubbled over and painted Xander's stomach.  
  
The fall back to awareness was long as they emptied themselves. The two men sat locked in position as shudders raced through and between them. They stared into each other’s golden eyes and their breaths synchronized. They were one.   
  
Xander was first to reconnect to himself. His eyes shifted back to their natural brown.   
  
"Spike?" Xander softly whispered.  
  
Spike smiled wistfully, the spell was broken. He returned Xander's gaze with his once again blue eyes.   
  
"Pet?" Spike answered. "Ya ask me if I'm all right and yer arse is gonna be cherry red until we reach Hyperion."  
  
Xander blushed and bit his tongue.   
  
"Was bloody marvelous," Spike said as he remembered how to use his arms and slid them down Xander's shoving the confining shirt off his boy. "Best shag I ever had."  
  
Xander blushed again and risked wrapping his freed arms around Spike and pulling him into a fierce hug. Spike let Xander pull him close and returned the embrace.  
  
"Can't say we'll do this often," Spike whispered into Xander's ear, "but there's no one else I'd want or trust ta take me."  
  
Xander buried his face into Spike's neck and softly lapped at the bite marks he’d left.  
  
"This was  _our_  first time like this, Xan," Spike continued to whisper. "No more guilt, eh? No more sad smiles and no more hurt looks."  
  
Xander nodded. Spike brought his hands up to gently cup Xander's face. He tilted his boy's head back so he could once again look into Xander's eyes. There was only love and satiation shining in those eyes. Spike swooped down for another domineering kiss. Xander submitted sweetly and offered his mouth to Spike's control. Spike groaned and then broke the kiss. Slowly he began to work himself free from Xander. Xander released his hold on Spike and watched his lover lift up and away from him. Little Xander slid out with a slick and satisfying POP. Xander grinned cheekily.  
  
"Bit proud of yerself, eh?" Spike said as he stood a pace back from Xander. Xander smiled, shrugged and then laced his fingers behind his head as he leaned back into the chair.   
  
"Oi!" Spike said.   
  
"Oi?" Xander countered. "That's all you have to say to your Captain is, 'Oi?'"  
  
Spike arched an eyebrow.   
  
"And wot would ya like me ta say?"  
  
"I don't know," Xander shrugged. "Maybe 'thank you?'"  
  
 _Bloody cheeky git!_  Spike internally laughed while he roared and dove for Xander. Xander let loose an endearingly cute but completely unmanly squeak and tried to get out of Spike's way. Biogen or not, Xander was no match for Spike and quickly found himself scooped up and firmly planted over Spike's shoulder.  
  
"SPIIIIKE!" Xander yelled and felt a hard swat across his backside.  
  
"Wot?" Spike answered as he swung around and began to exit the cabin.   
  
"Put me down!" Xander ordered while squirming to get free. Another firm swat to his backside settled Xander.   
  
"Why?" Spike asked as he moved toward the back of the ship and to the sleeping quarters.   
  
"Cuz I'm the Captain!" Xander sputtered.   
  
"Stagin' a mutiny," Spike grinned and then wiggled a still slick finger down the cleft of Xander’s ass to tease and taunt Xander's pucker.   
  
"SPIIIIKE!" Xander shouted again and was surprised to find Little Xander already interested.  _Biogens!_  Xander thought as he snorted.  
  
Spike continued to grin and tease him until he reached the bed. Then with a final little circle and teasing thrust of the tip of his finger, Spike retreated from Xander's pucker. Then he dropped the boy onto the bed. Xander bounced once on the firm mattress and the air pounded out of him. He gasped at Spike like a beached fish. Spike laughed and rummaged in the cabin's dresser drawer for more lube while Xander sputtered for breath.   
  
"Nuthin' ta say?" Spike asked as he squeezed some lube into his hand while Xander tried to inhale deeply.  
  
"Not funny!" Xander managed to say while Spike slicked up his hardening cock.  _Gotta love Biogen recovery time,_  Spike thought.  
  
"Mutinies rarely are," Spike said as he pounced on the bed and spread Xander's legs.  
  
"You know, there are stiff penalties for mutineers," Xander replied.  
  
"Really?" Spike said as he propped Xander's legs on his shoulders and pressed his 'stiff' cock up against Xander's hole.  
  
"Very stiff," Xander huskily whispered. Spike laughed and eased forward. Xander groaned as he welcomed the feel of Spike opening and filling him up.  
  
"Guess I'd better enjoy myself while I can," Spike grinned as he seated himself fully into Xander.  
  
"How ya gonna do that?" Xander asked as he reached his hands above his head and held on to the headboard.   
  
"Gonna fuck ya all over this ship," Spike said as he began to thrust into Xander while reaching down to stroke Xander's cock.  
  
"Gonna fuck ya here, in the galley and even on the bridge," Spike said as he worked Xander inside and out. "By the time we get home there won't be a spot on this ship where ya can look without blushing."  
  
Xander groaned and blushed at the same time. Spike kept up the sensual verbal and physical assault.  
  
"Even gonna bend you over the bridge console. Gonna fuck ya from behind while all ya see is stars in front of ya. Gonna take ya hard too, so that you'll think my thrusts are hurtling ya through space."  
  
Spike increased his thrusting and stroking as he talked.  
  
"Not gonna let ya come though," Spike explained, his voice starting to get ragged with need and exertion. "Oh no, pet. Gonna cream yer arse and then I'm gonna flip ya on yer back and then as you're hot, needy, and dazedly staring back into space I'm gonna take ya in my mouth and suck ya off until ya burn out and explode like a dying star!"  
  
Xander closed his eyes and saw stars as he screamed through his second orgasm. Spike smiled and rocketed through his own release.  
  
***  
  
Xander came to in the all too familiar and welcome position of being nestled against Spike with his head on Spike's chest. Spike was stroking his fingers through Xander's thick and growing hair.  
  
"Still not long enough," Spike muttered sensing Xander was back with him.   
  
"I'm not letting it grow down to my ass," Xander said.  
  
"Oi! Ya will if I say ya will!"  
  
Xander smiled and rolled his eyes. "Bully!" Xander said.   
  
Spike grinned and continued to run his fingers through Xander's hair.  
  
Xander nestled closer and reveled in the feel of his lover. Xander was filled with a peace and contentment he'd never known.  
  
"Thank you, Spike," Xander said very seriously and quietly.  
  
 _Now wot's got the git's hamsters runnin'?_ Spike thought.   
  
"Fer wot, pet?" Spike asked.  
  
"For freeing me," Xander said.  
  
Spike chuckled. "Think that last ride shook somethin' loose in yer noggin, pet.  _You_  and yer friends freed  _me_."  
  
Xander sat up and looked down at Spike. Spike returned Xander's gaze.  
  
"The day you took me prisoner, Spike," Xander said, "you freed me. Without you I would have been trapped in Council lies."  
  
Spike reached up a hand and brushed it against Xander's cheek.   
  
"You were always too good for them Council prats, Xan," Spike said. "Eventually you would have come around."  
  
Xander turned his head and kissed Spike's palm and then looked back at Spike.   
  
"Maybe," Xander said, "but I'd still be trapped by my grief and...loneliness."  
  
The mere idea of Xander being lost and alone sent a chill down Spike's spine.  _NEVER!_  Spike silently roared. Spike pulled Xander down to him and held him close.   
  
"Never, pet," Spike growled. "Never gonna let that happen. I'll tie ya ta the bed and shag ya silly every day if that's wot it takes to prove it to ya!"  
  
"Promise?" Xander laughed as he snuggled back into Spike.   
  
"Oi! Cheeky git!" Spike replied as he gave another swat to Xander’s firm ass. He pinned Xander close to him.  
  
Xander reveled in Spike's possessive hold. Home and freedom were in that hold and Xander never wanted to escape it.


	44. (Epilogue/43 plus epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lt. “Xander” Harris and Captain William the Bloody have both suffered and lost in the on going war between the Biogens and Council. Now, Xander finds himself a prisoner of Captain William the Bloody (aka Spike). What will be Xander’s fate?

  
_The mere idea of Xander being lost and alone sent a chill down Spike's spine. NEVER! Spike silently roared. Spike pulled Xander down to him and held him close._

___"Never, pet," Spike growled. "Never gonna let that happen. I'll tie ya ta the bed and shag ya silly every day if that's wot it takes to prove it to ya!"_

___"Promise?" Xander laughed as he snuggled back into Spike._

___"Oi! Cheeky git!" Spike replied as he gave another swat to Xander’s firm ass. He pinned Xander close to him._

___Xander reveled in Spike's possessive hold. Home and freedom were in that hold and Xander never wanted to escape it._

***

  
The rendezvous with the  _DeSoto_  was a mixed blessing. It was wonderful for Spike and Xander to see Faith, Gunn, and Fred again. However, it was upsetting that Wes wasn’t there. While the two lovers were relieved to hear Wes was recovering; it was painful to hear about how severe his wounds had been. Fred assured them that Wes was going to make it and that all indications were that the stem cell graft had worked. They just had to wait to see how well.  
  
Spike let Faith continue to command the  _DeSoto_  back to Hyperion while he continued his pattern of alternating between acting as Xander’s Captain’s Mate on the  _Zeppo_  or staging more mutinies. By the time the  _Zeppo_  and the _DeSoto_  returned to Hyperion, Xander couldn’t even say the name of his ship without stuttering and blushing.   
  
Landing on Hyperion brought a small surprise to the lovers. Angel was waiting on the landing area for them. After debarking from the  _Zeppo’s_ gangplank, Spike and Angel did an uncomfortable ‘dance’ of awkward steps around each other. Finally Xander griped, “Hug or hit each other but can we just get on with it?”  
  
Spike and Angel shared a rueful glance and then did both. They quickly grabbed each other until they were mashed together in an awkward embrace and just as quickly they slapped each other on the back before parting.   
  
Angel then approached Xander. Xander just raised an eyebrow and said, “It won’t be a hug Bio-boy.”  
  
Angel snorted, smiled and then led the way back to his headquarters. Spike slapped a possessive hand on the back of Xander’s neck and chuckled all the way there.   
  
Wes was waiting for Angel and crew back at headquarters. Xander barely checked his startled gasp at seeing Wes in a wheelchair. Spike seemed to take it in stride and started calling Wes, ‘Wheels,’ much to his dismay.   
  
The reunion was wonderful with everyone joking, talking and swapping stories of their adventures since parting. When Wes seemed to be on the verge of falling asleep Fred announced she was beat and offered Wes a ‘push’ back to his room. Wes nodded and both Fred and Gunn wheeled him away.  
  
After Wes left Spike’s demeanor changed swiftly from loose and happy to rigid and radiating rage. Spike looked at Angel. Spike growled one word before storming out of the office; “’Gelus.”  
  
Angel stood up and quickly followed Spike. Xander tried to follow but Faith grabbed him by the arm.  
  
“Don’t,” Faith said.   
  
“He needs me,” Xander argued.  
  
“He needs to hurt someone,” Faith replied. “Wes is not only Spike’s friend; he’s under Spike’s command. Wes was badly hurt and Spike couldn’t do a damn thing about it.”  
  
“I know and I have to do something to help,” Xander said.  
  
“Then go upstairs, strip down, clean up and crawl into your shared bed,” Faith ordered. “Let Angel do the hurt and you do the comfort.”  
  
Xander stood for a moment staring at Faith and contemplating her words before finally nodding his head. Faith let him go and he went upstairs and followed Faith’s orders. Much later that night Spike returned, showered and then crawled into bed with his pet.   
  
“Spi…,” Xander tried to say but was silenced with one finger delicately pressed against his lips. Then Spike made love to Xander very slowly and very lovingly until Xander was boneless and sated. Afterwards, Spike laid his head on Xander’s chest and let silent tears fall down his perfectly chiseled cheeks. Xander wordlessly stroked and caressed Spike until they both fell asleep.   
  
The next morning Spike was back to his arrogant and bossy self. Angel, though, seemed to move slowly and still looked bruised and beaten. Xander decided to give the older Biogen a small truce that day and kept his sharp-tongued barbs to himself.  
  
A few planetside weeks later Angel and crew once again gathered together. This time they gathered at the med center in the physical therapy room at Wes’s command. Then Wes proudly wiggled his left foot. Everyone clapped, laughed and congratulated Wes. The movement that far down Wes’s spine meant not only had the stem cell graft taken and worked but that Wes’s spinal injuries were healing. It would take many weeks in physical therapy but Wes would be able to walk again.  
  
Angel had insisted everyone go back to his office for a drink where he had poured everyone a glass from his private stock.  
  
“To reunited friends,” Wes said and raised his glass.  
  
“To kickin’ butt,’ Gunn answered with his raised glass.  
  
“To Spike and Xander!” Fred chirped.  
  
“To getting some,” Faith purred.  
  
“Ta the best damn crew in the ‘verse,” Spike said.  
  
“To peace,” Xander said.  
  
“To family,” Angel finally intoned and then downed his drink.  
  
Everyone else followed suit and soon Angel and the  _DeSoto_  crew were once again laughing and swapping stories. It was a comfortable and cozy gathering until Xander caught a familiar twinkle in Spike’s eye.   
  
“Oh no you don’t, Captain Lechery!” Xander squeaked while getting up and moving away from Spike.  
  
“Xanpet,” Spike crooned while letting his eyes go gold and his stance predatory.   
  
“Spike,” Xander said while maneuvering around a sighing Angel and Angel’s desk. The rest of the crew started to giggle.   
  
“You run,” Spike said, “you’ll be in big trouble.”  
  
“I’m not going to let you throw me over your shoulder and haul me off upstairs in front of everyone,” Xander retorted as he feinted and then made a dash for the door.  
  
Spike laughed and gave chase. Angel dove for the vids and papers suddenly scattered by the scramble and the rest of the crew dashed out the door to watch ‘the game.’  
  
While Xander was wily and fast, the game still ended as everyone anticipated. Xander was slung over Spike’s shoulder squirming and fussing while Spike whistled and entered the lift that would take him and his pet upstairs to their room.  
  
That night Spike tied Xander to their bed and then began a slow torture of teasing Xander’s bound body. Spike kept Xander on edge the entire evening and even bound Xander’s cock to make sure Xander wouldn’t come until Spike let him.   
  
Spike reduced Xander to a fleshy ball of hungry desire. Xander went from vowing to never run from Spike again to seriously wondering if he could survive this every night.    
  
After Spike had rendered Xander a quivering mass of need and pleasure he finally took pity on his sweet pet and said, “Give me the code and I’ll let ya go.”  
  
“Huh?”   
  
“Give me the code and I’ll set ya free,” Spike said while thrusting his hips forward to drive his cock once again over Xander’s happy spot.  
  
Xander arched into that thrust as much as he could and tried to concentrate.  _What code? What’s he talking about?_ Xander thought.   
  
Over and over Xander tried to figure out what Spike wanted. He called out every name of the  _DeSoto_ crew, the Regent’s circle and even the names of the various colonies they had visited. Each guess was wrong and each guess was answered by another sensual torture from Spike ranging from teasing Xander’s sensitized nipples to Spike thrusting his cock back and forth over Xander’s prostate.  
  
Finally Xander shouted, “Abacus!”  
  
“Abacus?” Spike stilled and then laughed.  
  
“Hey, I’m desperate,” Xander panted. Spike shook his head and then descended to claim his pet’s mouth.   
  
“We’ll I’ll give ya an ‘A’ for originality in the face of desperation,” Spike said when he broke the kiss, “but that’s still not the code that’ll get ya the goods.”  
  
 _The goods?_  Xander thought, as Spike feasted with hungry nibbles on Xander’s neck.  _That sounds so familiar. That…_  
  
And then suddenly Xander knew what Spike wanted. Xander groaned and then laughed, “Harris. Zed – Beta – Alpha – Jesse!”  
  
Spike stopped nibbling, smiled wickedly at Xander and then freed Xander’s cock. Xander arched up and let his release take him over. Spike quickly followed suit.  
  
***  
  
Xander woke to Spike kissing a trail down his spine.  
  
“You wore me out last night,” Xander muttered into his pillow, “you’re gonna have to start without me this morning.”  
  
Spike chuckled against the cleft of Xander’s ass and sent his sinful tongue down the fleshy tunnel for a quick taste.  
  
“Spike,” Xander groaned in sleepy pleasure.  
  
“C’mon, pet,” Spike said. “Get up.”  
  
Xander shook his head and snuggled deeper into the pillows.   
  
“Pet!” Spike laughed and then tried to sound stern, “that’s an order.”  
  
“Punish me then,” Xander laughed into his pillow and waggled his butt at Spike.  
  
Spike rolled his eyes and slapped Xander’s butt. Xander purred into the pillow.  
  
“Ya know all punishments aren’t pleasant,” Spike warned with a smile.  
  
“I’ll take my chances,” Xander said with his face still plastered in the pillow.  
  
 _Time for a different tack,_  Spike thought.  
  
“If ya don’t get out of bed right now,” Spike said, “ya won’t get yer prezzie.”  
  
Xander rolled slowly to his side and blinked an eye open.  
  
“Prezzie?” Xander asked while he stared at Spike.  
  
“Prezzie,” Spike said as he reached out and tucked a lock of Xander’s growing hair behind his ear.  
  
Xander then sat up and looked at Spike.  
  
“Gimme,” Xander said. Spike laughed and then kissed Xander soundly.  
  
“Up and in front of the mirror,” Spike ordered.  
  
Xander scrambled out of bed. He stumbled his way to the full length mirror in the bedroom and looked at Spike’s reflection.  
  
“Now what, Captain Morningbreath?” Xander asked.  
  
“Oi! Close yer eyes and no peeking, prat!” Spike ordered while he forced down a chuckle.  
  
Xander sighed and did as he was told. He could hear Spike rummaging around in the drawer by their bed. It was the same drawer where they kept many of their sex toys.  
  
“I’m tellin’ ya, Spike,” Xander said with his eyes tightly shut, “Little Xan is all worn out from last night. Biogen or not, he just ain’t got the goods to deliver this morning.”  
  
“We’ll see. Just keep them peepers closed until I tell ya ta open ‘em,” Spike warned.  
  
Xander waited and soon he felt the presence of Spike behind him. Then Xander felt something cool and metallic being wrapped around his neck. He heard a small ‘click’ and then Spike’s arms wrapped around his waist and Spike’s chin rested on Xander’s shoulder.  
  
“Open yer eyes,” Spike whispered.   
  
Xander did and then gasped. Around his neck was a gleaming metal choker beaded with an alternating series of blue and brownish-green stones.  
  
“The metal’s platinum,” Spike whispered in Xander’s ear while staring at their reflections. “The blue stones are sapphires and the other ones are tiger eyes.”  
  
Xander looked from the choker into Spike’s eyes. He then looked at his own eyes.  _Sapphire for Spike and tiger eyes for me,_  Xander thought and smiled.  
  
“It’s beautiful, Spike,” Xander whispered back as he let his eyes lock on Spike’s again.  
  
“Promised ya I’d get ya another collar some day,” Spike said.   
  
“I promise to never take it off,” Xander whispered and turned in Spike’s arms so he could really look in Spike’s eyes and not just his reflection. “I’ll wear it ‘til I die or you take it off.”  
  
“Never gonna happen,” Spike vowed and then kissed Xander until Little Xander thought he could go another round.  
  
As the two men stumbled back to bed wrapped in each other’s arms and desire Spike thought,  _Kept my promise, Dru._  
  
Then the time for thinking was over and the time for loving began.  
  
-finis-  
  



End file.
